Pokemon: Neo Genesis
by cichawk
Summary: Now in the Sinnoh region, what new adventure awaits Ash, Brock, and Dawn? Advanceshipping, AshxMay, AshMay, AaMayL
1. Part 1: Neo Expedition: Newcomer

Hello, and welcome to my one and only fanfic, Pokémon: Neo Genesis. This story takes place during the Diamond and Pearl series between episodes 38 and 51, as those are those are the episodes between when Brock's Happiny hatches and Ash adopts Chimchar. Therefore, Dawn doesn't have Aipom and Ash doesn't have Chimchar or Buizel yet.

The fic contains Advanceshipping, but the entire plot is not focused on it. There may also be some minor ships throughout the story, but those are mainly just to contribute to the plotline and may not turn out into a ship by the end. All in all, I will stay true to the ship. I know I labeled the story as Advanceshipping, AshxMay, AaMayL, and whatnot, but for this fic, there's a much larger story behind everything. As a disclaimer, the real 'shipping' stuff won't occur until part 2, as I have a lot of the story planned out and everything via timelines and other materials, so if you are looking for some immediate shipping material, you may be disappointed. However, there are hints dropped everywhere, but you'll actually have to read the fic to find stuff out.

Alright, here we go

* * *

**Foreword**

Alright, I always start off with a foreword and end up with an afterthought. These just contain random tidbits about the chapter and whatnot, but no spoilers.

First off, character ages. Quite an important part of the fic. Since it's the beginning of the fic, I'll only reveal the ages of the characters that you all know have to be in here. First off, Ash is 15 now, and this is how I present my justification for that (note: for those of you who read this on SPPf, I have changed it a bit). He spent 1 year in Kanto and Indigo Plateau, half a year on the Orange Islands, 2 years in Johto (since that actually spanned for 3 seasons in the anime, though it was mostly filler), 1 and a half years in Hoenn, and now he's just a couple months into Sinnoh. Sounds good, no? Therefore, everyone else's age was done according to his. Dawn is 12, Brock is 20, and May is 13.

I'll touch on the title of the story as well. In Latin, the word 'neo' means new, and 'genesis' has several meanings, though they all mean something like beginning, birth, or origin. So when translated, it loosely means 'New Beginning.' The reason for the title will probably be subtly revealed as the story goes. Also, part 1 is called Neo Expedition, which you all can figure out what that means after giving the definition of neo.

Now that's all I wanted to touch on. Finally, our feature presentation.

* * *

**Part 1 - Neo Expedition**

**Chapter 1 - Newcomer**

Three travelers and a Pokémon were walking down a dirt road, with the traveler in the center walking slightly in front of the other two. It was mid-morning, and the weather was perfect. The sky was cloudless, there was a slight breeze, and the temperature was on the cool side, as it was around most of the Sinnoh region since it was farther north than other regions.

The traveler walking in the center of the threesome was a Pokémon trainer. He was a rather short teenaged boy, wearing a black vest with a horizontal yellow stripe, a white T-shirt underneath, a pair of baggy blue jeans, red and black sneakers, black fingerless gloves, and finally, a red and black hat with a blue symbol on the front. Under the hat was his untidy, black hair that stuck out in multiple directions, and his large brown eyes. His build was somewhat muscular, which probably developed over the many years of traveling he had done. On his back was a green backpack that had the bare necessities he needed for his travels, and on his right shoulder was where a small yellow mouse-like Pokémon stood.

To the trainer's right was an older male, who aspired to be a great Pokémon breeder. He was a couple inches taller than the trainer and wore an orange and grey vest with an olive green T-shirt underneath. He also wore a pair of khaki pants, white and blue sneakers, and carried a large blue backpack that contained supplies that the three travelers needed to survive in the wild. He had spiky brown hair, eyes so squinty that one could never tell if they were open or not, and a rather muscular body build.

On the left of trainer in the center was a girl that was younger than both of the two males. Her goal was to be a great Pokémon coordinator. Although the coordinator was younger than the trainer, she was about the same height as he. She wore a white beanie cap with a pink symbol on top of her dark blue hair, yellow hair clips on both sides of her head, a black tank top, loose pink mini-skirt, knee-length black socks, and a pair of pink boots that went up her shins. On her back was a small yellow backpack that held the simple necessities needed for travel like the trainer's backpack.

The three travelers had been walking for many days towards their next destination, Lightcrown City. There was no official Pokémon league gym or contest at Lightcrown City, but the three travelers needed to go there anyway to pick up more supplies for their journey, as well as figure out where they needed to be next.

The day was seemingly normal, and all was quiet until a strange sound was heard.

_Growwwwllll Gurrrrgggleee_

The female member of the group immediately jumped up in surprise and shrieked.

"What the heck was that?!" the girl squealed. She came to a stop and looked in several directions, searching for the source of the sound she had just heard.

There was a short pause after the two male travelers came to a halt. Finally, the older male spoke up.

"Sounded like Ash's stomach," the breeder calmly replied with a raised eyebrow.

The coordinator quickly looked at the trainer's direction, and then at his stomach. The trainer named Ash had a nervous grin on his face as he placed his hand on his stomach.

"How could his stomach sound so... alive!?" she asked while pointing.

"Heh," chuckled Ash. "Guess I'm really hungry, seeing how we didn't eat breakfast 'cause we're out of food. Does my stomach really sound that scary, Dawn?" he added with a slight blush.

"YES!" the girl named Dawn almost yelled. "You nearly scared me out of my boots. We really have to make it to Lightcrown City today, don't we Brock?"

"We sure do," said Brock. "I seriously doubt Ash can last a day without food," he added with a chuckle.

"Pika pika," the little mouse Pokémon laughed.

"Aw, c'mon Pikachu, you know how my stomach is when I miss a meal," Ash said as he pulled his hat over his eyes slightly and blushing some more.

His two companions laughed as they continued down the road, Ash following slightly behind this time.

"You're so cute when you're embarrassed, Ash," Dawn said while giving him a wink.

This caused Ash's face to turn even redder, since he wasn't so used to people calling him "cute," even under the circumstances. He began to drag behind the group even more.

Dawn turned her head around again and saw how red he looked even with his hat covering part of his face. She let giggle and continued on walking.

_"Now that I think about it, he really is kind of... cute... isn't he?"_ As Dawn pondered that thought again she let out a small blush. _"Hee hee, it's fun to embarrass Ash," _she thought to herself with a smile.

Brock silently observed the two through the corner of his eye. _"Oh boy, looks like we have a situation here... Wonder if Ash even notices that she's flirting with him." _He did a double take at Ash and then said to himself out loud, "Nah."

* * *

The threesome continued walking on the road normally after their short conversation. The land around the road wasn't the normal plain grasslands they usually traveled through however. There was other vegetation around, such as bushes, trees, hedgerows, and plants, all of different shapes and sizes, that decorated the landscape around the road. It was perfect for many things, such as foraging for berries, sleeping under trees, hiding... launching ambushes...

Out of no where, a pair of rubber gloved hands flew out of a large bush and grabbed Pikachu off of Ash's shoulder.

"Pikapi!" cried the little mouse Pokémon.

The hands quickly retracted back towards the bush and just as Ash, Dawn, and Brock turned their heads towards Pikachu's cries, the ground underneath them collapsed.

"WAHHH!!" the three shouted.

The three travelers landed with a loud thud, and after the dust had cleared, Ash spoke up first.

"Owww," groaned Ash. "What happened?"

When his eyes finally regained their focus, he noticed that he had fallen into some kind of hole. He also noticed there was something, or rather someone on top of him. It was Dawn, and she wasn't just on top of him. Her body was parallel to his body and pressing against it while her arms held onto his shoulders. Her face was also just a couple of inches away from his, but her eyes were closed. If one was to look at the scene from the side, it would have looked extremely suggestive. It took a few seconds for Ash to register in his mind how close they were and he when he did he gave a short yelp.

Dawn opened her eyes after hearing him, but before she could say or do anything, loud laughter exploded at the opening of the pitfall.

"Looks like the twerps have once again fell into our simple little contraption," a female voice cackled.

"You'd think they'd learn something after the thousands of time they've fell into them," chuckled a male voice.

"How 'bouts we stop laughing over 'dem twerpies and get's outa here now that we gots Pikachu." a slightly high pitched voice rang out.

"What about the mott-"

"Forget 'da motto! Let's jus' scram before 'da twerps can react!" the high pitch voice yelled annoyingly.

"Right!" The male and female voice said at the same time.

It didn't take the pitfall victims long to figure out who had set up the trap. However, as they stood up ready for battle, they heard running footsteps heading away from the hole.

"Team Rocket! Come back here with Pikachu!" Ash hollered angrily, instantly forgetting the embarrassing situation that occurred earlier. He threw one of his Pokéballs and a black and white bird Pokémon appeared out of the flash.

"Staravia, Catch up to Team Rocket and bring Pikachu back!"

"Staraaavia!", to bird Pokémon complied to the order and instantly flew out of the hole.

Dawn threw a Pokéball out of the hole as well and said, "Buizel, you follow Team Rocket too!"

A weasel-like Pokémon came out of the flash of the Pokéball and immediately started chasing after the three crooks as well. Ash, Dawn, and Brock could only stand in the hole and wait for their Pokémon to return...

* * *

The seconds were turning into minutes and there was no sign of the two Pokémon sent by their masters to fight Team Rocket. Ash was beginning to become worried and he began pacing around the perimeter of their pitfall prison.

"What if-," but before he could finish his sentence, an ear-shattering explosion resonated through the air. The three travelers covered their ears in an attempt to cut out the sound of the explosion that could break their eardrums.

The sound of the explosion lingered for ten whole seconds before subsiding and everything became quiet once again.

"That... WAS LOUD!" Dawn shouted with a bit of fright in her voice.

"What do you made that explosion?" asked Brock while putting a hand to his chin.

"Maybe, maybe it was Team Rocket's balloon?" Ash said. _"I hope you're alright Pikachu."_

Dawn noticed Ash's worried looks and walked up next to him. Ash noticed her motions and turned around to give her a little smile to let her know he was alright.

The three of them continued waiting for their Pokémons' return. After a couple minutes, a sound above could be heard, and Ash, Dawn, and Brock looked up towards the opening of the hole. As the sound got closer, they could recognize that it was the sound of footsteps walking towards the hole.

"Buizel, is that you?" Dawn called out.

"Are you there too Pikachu and Staravia?" Ash called as well.

The footsteps continued walking closer to the hole, and after what seemed like an eternity, they came to a stop. Ash, Dawn, and Brock all held their breath at this.

"Pi-Pikachu? Staravia?" Ash said one more time, more nervously.

The suspense of waiting was killing him, but right as he was about to call out again, a dark figure looked over the top of the hole.

It was a head.

A human head.

* * *

**Afterthought**

Well, that's the first chapter, and it starts off right into the action with Team Rocket, but now they seem to be blasted off by something or someone…

Now some of you may be asking why Dawn is… acting the way she is. Well, as I like to say, it's all part of the grand plan. But seriously, don't worry, the fic will stay true to what I intend it to be.

Lastly, I will give a chapter title explanation in each afterthought. 'Newcomer' is somewhat self-explanatory, as there is a newcomer about.


	2. Friend or Foe or Rival

**Foreword**

So here's chapter two, and we are about to figure out who the mysterious figure was (wow that was a short foreword compared to my last).

* * *

**Chapter 2 - Friend or Foe or Rival**

Ash, Dawn, and Brock all froze at the sight. Even though they couldn't see the person's face because of the light shining down into the dark hole, they were all nervous nonetheless. The three prisoners were expecting to see the faces of their Pokémon, but the appearance of the strange visitor was somehow unnerving.

Minutes that seemed like hours passed, until Brock built up the courage to speak.

"Uhh... excuse us... but would you mind giving us a hand here... please?" Brock always seemed to be able to act polite even in the tensest situations.

The dark figure looked down into the hole for another few seconds before it withdrew out of sight. Another couple of seconds passed and a rope was dropped down into the hole. Ash walked up to the rope and gave it a tug, to make sure it was tied on to something on the other end.

"Er, guess that person threw down this rope for us to climb... so who wants to climb up first?" asked Ash with some uneasiness in his voice.

Neither Dawn nor Brock looked very excited about being freed of their pitfall prison at the moment, as they both looked at Ash with a bit of angst.

"How about you go up first, huh Ash?" Dawn said with a nervous grin. "I bet you can handle whatever you find up there. Unless you're... _scared_?" She knew that would push his buttons.

Ash returned her nervous smile with a new look of determination. "Whadya mean scared? I've faced tons of dangerous things before like killer Pokémon! Some strange, creepy person's not gonna scare me!" However, his eyes said otherwise.

Dawn let out a giggle and continued teasing him. "Well then, show me that you're as big and brave as you say then."

"I-I will!" Ash said with force while turning slightly red.

"Are we ever going to go up?" Brock said with slight annoyance.

"I'm going I'm going!" Ash took the rope and looked up. He gave a small gulp, closed his eyes, and then began scaling the side of the hole.

Closing his eyes was definitely a bad idea, as he immediately lost his footing on the side of the hole and fell right back down.

"Ahhh!" He groaned as he rubbed his rear.

"C'mon Ash, be a man," Dawn taunted with a flirtatious voice.

Ash blushed some more and mumbled something under his breath before grabbing the rope again.

Brock shook his head at Ash and took a look at Dawn. _"Heh, I wonder what would happen if SHE __was here. It hasn't been that long since she left for Johto, but then again, she's probably hanging out with Mr. Rose-Guy. Wonder if she still thinks about Ash." _He took one last look at Ash before finally concluding to himself, _"Girls will forever be a mystery, even to me."_

* * *

After a minute of climbing, Ash finally made it to the top of the hole he had been imprisoned in.

"I really gotta think of something to use to detect these stupid holes..." he grumbled to himself.

As Ash waited for his companions to scale the hole, he remembered that someone had thrown the rope to them in the first place. He quickly turned around several times to look for the person that had helped them, but saw no one. Right then, another thought hit him. Where were Pikachu, Staravia, and Buizel? He quickly went back to his worried state and started calling out their names.

"Pikachu! Staravia! Buizel! Where are you guys?"

After a few minutes of yelling some more, Brock and Dawn finally rejoined him at the top of the hole.

"Wh-Where are our Pokémon? And that weird guy too?" Dawn panted as she wasn't as used to climbing out of holes as Ash and Brock were.

Ash and Dawn's eyes met, and in an instant, they began to panic, but Brock being the older and wiser one of the three, began to think of the situation in a logical fashion. While his two younger companions began to run around in circles babbling, Brock decided to survey the scene. It didn't take him long to find something close by. Before Ash and Dawn could break down any more, Brock pulled both their arms and spun them towards the tree the rope was tied to.

"Try checking over there," Brock stated simply while pointing.

The two of them calmed down a bit and stared at Brock with confused looks before walking towards the tree, with Brock followed closely behind.

Around the tree the rope was tied to were some bushes that shrouded whatever was beyond it, so the three had to wade their way through before seeing what was on the other side. When they emerged from the bushes, what they saw surprised them.

A male person was kneeling under another tree a couple of feet away from them, with his back turned towards them, as he seemed to be tending to something on the ground. His features couldn't be seen clearly since he was under the shade of the tree though. The three travelers looked at one another with hesitant looks before deciding that they had to approach the mysterious person. As Ash, Dawn, and Brock came out of the bushes to confront him, he instantly stopped what he was doing and stood up. The threesome stopped in their tracks as he made the motion, and the air became tense around all of them. Nobody dared to make a single movement.

Finally, someone spoke up. It was the strange person that stood before the three.

"You all alright?"

A shiver was sent down the spines of the three travelers, as the speaker's voice was extremely deep. The person still didn't turn around to face them.

"Uhh, yes, we are!" answered Ash with uncertainty in his voice. After regaining his thoughts, he questioned on. "Oh yeah, um, did you happen to see our Pokémon, Pikachu, Staravia, and Buizel?"

"Right here," answered the ominous figure. He stepped to the side, revealing the three Pokémon. Pikachu was unscratched and appeared to be sleeping. However, Staravia and Buizel's conditions were much worse. Upon closer examination, it could be seen that the two Pokémon had many wounds on their bodies, some looking to be quite severe. They were unconscious as well, and looked to be in pain. The worry meter instantly shot up within the trainer, coordinator, and breeder.

"Staravia!" shouted Ash. "What happened to you, are you alright?"

"Buizel! Oh please be alright." Dawn said worriedly.

As the three began to approach, the strange person standing between them and the Pokémon turned around, finally revealing himself. Ash, Dawn, and Brock froze as he did this. He still stood in the shadows, but now the threesome could now see his features.

The mysterious person actually looked to be... a teenager! In fact, he looked to be only a little older than Ash but younger than Brock. However, he still looked somewhat intimidating to Ash, since he was about the same height as Brock, though a lot skinnier. Not a scrawny skinny though, but more of a slim skinny. He wore a black fleece jacket over a plain white T, baggy blue jeans similar to Ash's, though more faded in color, and black sneakers with a few orange stripes on the sides. He also had a backpack with a single strap that went across his chest, where six Pokéballs of various colors were attached.

The boy's face could also be seen through the shadows when examined more closely by the three. He had a thin face with somewhat messy black hair slightly shorter than Ash's, though instead of sticking out in every direction, it simply went down on the sides of his face, covering his forehead and the sides of his head. The back of his hair was another story though, as that part was longer and stuck out messily which made it look like he had a short mane. His face was also clean shaven except for his chin, where a small goatee could be seen forming. He had a "normal" sized nose and a mouth that was on the small side.

His eyes and ears were a bigger item of interest though. He had piercing, yet also tired looking, eyes that looked to be pure black. Everyone knows that there are no such things as black eyes but the teenager's eyes definitely looked black. _"His eyes are actually kinda... nice," _thought Dawn. His ears, or rather, his right ear also held a unique trait. The teenaged boy's right earlobe was actually missing a small piece, like it had been cut off. It wasn't a large amount, and it wasn't extremely noticeable, but when scanning him closely, it was definitely visible.

_"Tee hee, he's actually not that creepy. Actually, I think he's kind of handsome, in a sort of rugged way."_

_"Whoa, what's with this guy. He acts all mysterious and stuff but he turns out to be just a normal guy... well, except for his eyes and that right ear."_

_"Hmm, this guy seems like he knows how to care for wounded Pokémon... I wonder what kind of food he uses."_

As Ash, Dawn, and Brock silently thought to themselves, the boy started to walk towards them. For some reason, all the tension and nervousness left their bodies.

"Your Pokémon will be alright," the teenaged boy said in his deep voice. "They just had a tough battle with those two crooks and that Meowth."

"Wait a sec, a tough battle? With Team Rocket?" Brock said incredulously.

"Well, most battles are pretty tough when you're outnumbered six to two. Not to mention the Pokémon also didn't have their trainers giving orders."

"Huh? You mean Team Rocket actually fought back in an _organized_ manner?" Ash said with a look of disbelief on his face.

"You try fighting so many opponents with just one partner next time," the teenager said without changing his tone. "It's not like your Pokémon are invincible you know."

That comment broke a tiny fiber in Ash's brain.

"Hey! Are you implying that my Pokémon are weaker than yours?" Ash was taking the other guy's comments the wrong way, and Brock and Dawn could only sigh at that. Some days it seems like all the maturing that Ash had done over the years would disappear when he met a new rival. Not that this person was even a rival yet since he hadn't battled Ash.

"No."

"Then what did you mean by that?"

"I just meant that they're not invincible."

"Well, they're pretty damned strong that's for sure."

"Do you have to cuss? It doesn't amplify the effect that your words have on me."

Ash could only growl at the other boy after that. He was quickly being outsmarted and he had to regain his dignity somehow. He said the one thing that he always said when he was being ticked off.

"Fine! Then I challenge you to a battle!" Ash yelled while pointing his finger at the other.

The two teenagers looked at each other for several seconds. Ash had a look of determination on his face while the other had an impassive look. Finally, the other boy responded to the challenge.

"Um, don't you think you should take care of your wounded Pokémon first?"

Ash's brain finally snapped back in place at that and he glanced over at his two Pokémon lying under the tree. Dawn was already caring for Buizel and he immediately felt a wave of embarrassment and shame overtake him.

"You-you're right," Ash said as he looked down.

* * *

After a half hour of medical care from Brock, Staravia and Buizel were back on their feet and talons, looking better than ever. The wounds that the Pokémon received in the battle with Team Rocket turned out to be rather minor battle wounds, which is no surprise since it was Team Rocket they had been fighting. Pikachu didn't suffer any wounds since he was captive during the whole battle and was back up and running almost as soon as Brock started treating him. Ash, Dawn, and Brock decided to let out all their Pokémon for some food and exercise, since it was already almost noon. Unfortunately, Brock was down to his last batch of Pokémon food now, so the food was rationed in smaller amounts, more being given to the battle-weary Pokémon.

Since Brock had no human food left, he and his friends had to skip another meal until they got to Lightcrown City. The newcomer didn't seem to have any food either, or he just didn't feel like eating any. All in all, there was no food for Ash, Dawn, and Brock, and Ash was starting to get grumpy after not having any food for a long time. He also felt guilty about not caring for his Pokémon as soon as he could, but didn't forget about how the other boy had embarrassed him. As soon as things settled down and they all sat down to relax, with the exception of the newcomer, his mind began to fire up again. Dawn noticed how Ash stared angrily at the other guy, who was standing on the other side of the clearing they were in, looking into the light blue sky.

_"Hm, the cute, fiery one... or the handsome, cool one... tee hee this is getting interesting! Well, maybe I should be a good girl and help Ash settle this silly little dispute..."_

"Hey Ash, you know, maybe instead of you being all ticked off at that guy, you should remember that he helped our Pokémon out in battle." Dawn said cheerily.

"Hmph, maybe our Pokémon didn't need help. Maybe they were about to finish off Team Rocket before Mr. Big-Shot over there decided to interfere." Ash said while furrowing his eyebrows.

"Oh come on Ash, you weren't there to see it happen. None of us were. And you saw how our Pokémon were hurt; he probably _saved _them for all we know." Dawn was getting slightly annoyed at Ash's stubborn attitude.

"Whatever, that guy still needs to battle me. I'll show him."

"Why are you all over his case anyway? It's not like he actually said anything bad to you."

"I don't know!" Ash was loosing his cool again. "It's just the way he... argh I don't know! I guess it's how he's just so cool and impassive about everything. It's almost like... almost like he has no emotions!"

"Ash, you just met the guy. Take the time to get to know him before jumping to your silly conclusions." Dawn added a playful knock to his head as she said this.

Ash only grumbled as he stood up to walk to the opposite end of the clearing from where the other teenager stood.

_"Dawn's got a point. It is kind of silly how I'm already judging him from the few words we exchanged... guess I'll try to have a friendlier conversation with him some other time, after I challenge him to a battle again of course."_

Ash turned around to take a look at the other guy, who still stood motionless in the same spot he had been standing in the entire time. He then looked at his Pokémon and thought that now that they've all been healed and fed, it was a good time to battle. Before Ash had a chance to challenge him however, Dawn had taken the chance to initiate a conversation with the tall teenager.

"Excuse me uh, mister, but I've been meaning to ask what happened between you and Team Rocket." As the teenaged boy turned around, Dawn felt herself feeling warmer in the face.

"Oh, please don't call me mister, I really don't think I'm that much older than you to deserve that title." replied the tall boy as he cracked a small smile down towards Dawn.

"Oh, sorry mist- I mean... actually, I just realized I don't even know your name yet!"

"Likewise."

"Hehe, my name is Dawn," giggled the coordinator as she held her hands behind her back and leaned in slightly.

"Altaïr," the teenaged boy said simply.

"Ooo, that's a prett- I mean, nice name," she had caught herself just in time.

"Well, I dunno about that. That's just what my... _father_, named me. It means 'The Flyer' in Greek," Altaïr's eyes seemed to sadden a tiny bit when he said the last part but Dawn was too caught up in their conversation to notice. "What are those two guy's names?" he continued on.

"Oh, the one standing over there is Ash, and the one feeding the Pokémon is Brock," she answered while pointing to the both of them.

"Hm, alright. I think I might as well respond to Ash's request for a battle now." Altaïr said as he started walking towards Ash's location.

"Oh uh, well..." but Dawn couldn't say anymore as Altaïr had already left the vicinity. She was quite disappointed that their conversation had to end so soon.

_"Grrrr, why do boys always have to battle first and talk later? They'll never learn... well except Brock. He's totally the other way around." _she quickly followed after Altaïr as he walked closer towards Ash.

Brock observed everything that went on as he fed the Pokémon and began to become interested in what would happen next. He quickly finished feeding his Happiny and ran over to where everybody else was converging. _"This could get interesting."_

Ash noticed Altaïr coming closer and quickly acted like he hadn't been listening to the conversation between Altaïr and Dawn. He whistled a little tune and peered out of the corner of his eye one more time before Altaïr stopped and stood before him.

"Ready for a battle?"

* * *

**Afterthought**

It looks like a battle is about to occur between Ash and this mysterious person named Altaïr. A few things I have to touch on Altaïr now.

Firstly, Altaïr's name is based off Altaïr from the Xbox 360 and PS3 game Assassin's Creed (which I do own myself). The name in Greek (I like to use Greek a lot) means 'The Flyer,' which the reason for that will come about in later chapters. Also, his name is pronounced _all-tay-ear, _as the double dotted ï causes the syllable to stand alone, or something like that. Ok I don't really know, but that's what it seem like it does.

Altaïr is also somewhat based off the Altaïr in the game but only slightly in personality. He's actually based more off my own personality as well as very loosely on my own appearance, though of course being better looking and more anime styled. That was the only way I could think of a description of such detail for him. Even Altaïr's speech is a reflection off my own, though I definitely don't speak like that to people I'm closer with. That being said, you now know a few things about me.

So people on the forums say that I nailed Ash's character (meaning I got him in character), so I just wonder what you readers here on think about it.

Oh, almost forgot. The title 'Friend or Foe or Rival' is referring to what kind of relationship may come up between Altaïr and the gang. Kind of lame I know.


	3. Dogfight

**Foreword**

First high action Pokémon battle to take place here. And also, a few things to learn about the newcomer as well.

* * *

**Chapter 3 - Dogfight**

Ash and Altaïr stood at the opposite ends of the clearing, battle ready. Ash had that fiery look in his brown eyes every time he was going into a battle, and he wasn't prepared to lose. Altaïr on the other hand, just stood up straight with that impassive look he seemed to always have in his black eyes and face.

"So how many Pokémon?" asked Altaïr plainly.

"How 'bout we go with two?" Ash answered back loudly.

"I'll be the referee for this match," Brock announced as he walked towards the center of the field. "This will be a two on two Pokémon battle between Ash and Altaïr. No time limit. Choose your Pokémon now and begin the battle!"

Ash's eyes intensified as he looked down towards where Altaïr stood. "All right, time to give you a taste of what I can do! Pikachu, you're up first," Ash said to his yellow friend.

"Pikachu pi!" shouted the little mouse Pokémon while letting small sparks erupt from his cheeks.

Altaïr stood still and looked at Pikachu for several seconds before moving his hand up to one of his Pokéballs on the single strap of his backpack. His Pokéballs weren't quite the same as other Pokéballs, however. They were the same design as normal Pokéballs, but instead of being red and white, they all had another color on top of the usual white half. From the top of the strap to the bottom, there were teal, green, black, yellow, blue, and orange Pokéballs, in that respective order. Altaïr's hand touched the teal ball on the top, but instead of unlatching the Pokéball and throwing it, he simply pressed the button while it was still on his chest. There was a bright white flash and then Pokémon appeared...

A fox-like Pokémon with teal fur stood before Altaïr. He had rhombus-shaped spots on his back, tail, and ears of a darker shade of teal, but the Pokémon's most noticeable trait was that it seemed to be wearing a Sherpa cap on his head with two cap endings protruding out the front, with the very ends of the cap endings being the same dark shade of teal. Ash, Dawn, and Brock had never seen this peculiar Pokémon before, and stared at it for several seconds.

"What's that?" Ash asked himself while pulling out his red Pokédex.

_"Glaceon, the Fresh Snow Pokémon - Glaceon is one of the two new species of the Eevee-evolutionary line, found in the Sinnoh region. As a protective technique, it can completely freeze its fur to make its hairs stand like needles."_

"Hm, he can turn its fur into needles... better watch out for that Pikachu," Ash warned.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu squeaked in acknowledgment.

"Also, it seems like Glaceon's an ice-type, so Iron Tail would be a good move to use," Ash added.

Altaïr and Glaceon simply stood where they had been standing as if they were waiting for Ash to make the first move.

"Ok! Pikachu, use Agility to close in the distance and hit him with an Iron Tail!" Ash commanded.

"Pika!" Pikachu immediately complied as he began to show off his amazing speed by phasing in and out of different locations while approaching his opponent.

Altaïr and Glaceon continued to stand still, which confused Ash greatly.

_"Why isn't he ordering an attack or anything? Maybe he's just amazed at Pikachu's speed, hehe," _Ash thought to himself and while letting out a small chuckle.

When Pikachu was in range, his tail began to glow white as he began to dive towards Glaceon with great speed, and his tail in front.

However, both Ash and Pikachu were in for a great surprise.

Altaïr didn't bark a single order, but Glaceon reacted by himself anyway. With unimaginable speed and reflexes, Glaceon performed a short hop with his four feet just as Pikachu's tail was a hair's length from Glaceon's face. As Pikachu looked up in amazement while still gliding underneath, Glaceon slammed his two cap endings into Pikachu's front side as Pikachu continued began to pass underneath, effectively forcing him into the ground. A large amount of dust flew up and the two Pokémon were soon out of sight. Everything occurred in a blink of an eye but seemed to happen in slow-motion as the spectators and Ash watched in amazement.

"Pikachu! Are you ok?" yelled Ash.

The dust soon cleared and it was revealed that Pikachu was still standing in a small crater formed by his own body being slammed into a ground. However, he looked to be in a great deal of pain after the brutal assault, while Glaceon stood a couple of meters away from his opponent and merely stared at the yellow mouse.

_"What the hell happened?" _Ash thought frantically. _"Altaïr didn't say a single word yet his Glaceon was still able to pull a move off like that. No way could that have been on his Pokémon's own accord."_

"What's the deal here, how did your Glaceon pull that off?" Ash shouted across the field. "Are you like one of those psychic trainers who can speak to their Pokémon through their mind?"

"No." The one word reply slightly ticked Ash off.

"Then how'd your Pokémon do that?"

"You, being a trainer, should know that a Pokémon is only as strong as its trainer, correct?"

"Yeah...?"

"Then you also know that a Pokémon can only fight as well as its trainer can command it to."

"What's your point?" Ash peered over at his opponent suspiciously.

"Well, first answer this by yourself. Who's doing the actual fighting, you or your Pikachu?"

Ash didn't respond to the rhetorical question.

"So wouldn't it make sense to train your Pokémon to fight on its own instincts?"

"I'm not following you."

Altaïr sighed and continued explaining. "Your Pokémon are the ones that are in the heat of battle, so the Pokémon would know better than anyone what the consequences may be if they make a bad move. With a Pokémon's own instincts, they are the ones that know what the best course of action is, because they are the ones that have done actual battling and have received battle wounds."

Ash could only stare in amazement as he came to a realization. "So you mean-?"

"Yes, I've trained my Pokémon to fight and adapt according to how the situation acts out. If you want an analogy, think of boxers in a boxing match. They've been trained before the match but have to fight on their own in the actual match."

Ash was becoming overwhelmed by the information, but one thought of the situation quickly popped into his head.

"Well what about teamwork?" he questioned. "Trainers and Pokémon should work together in a battle in order to be the best they can and win."

"All the teamwork happens behind the scenes, during training," responded Altaïr. "There are many benefits of letting your Pokémon battle on its own, one which you witnessed firsthand. The Pokémon that is battling acts on its own reflexes and tactics to the situation that a trainer cannot necessarily see because the trainer is not the one battling. Another benefit is that the opposing trainer cannot read your strategy, since you are obviously not giving any commands out. Finally, a Pokémon doesn't have to process a battle command in its head that may waste that valuable split second where it could take the opportunity to strike on its own... or be struck. It also gives a Pokémon the freedom to use a combination of attacks in unconventional manners. In retrospect, my... 'theory' is actually somewhat superior to the way psychic trainers fight, because psychic trainers still have to give orders through their minds.

Ash was only barely following Altaïr's words, and after a minute of thought processing, he spoke again.

"Well, that may be your style of battling, but I'll stick to my way. It lets me build a bond of trust with my Pokémon since they trust me enough to follow my commands, so they believe in me." Ash gave a grin and punched the air in front of him.

"I wasn't trying to convert you to follow my battle and training strategy. It's extremely difficult to train your Pokémon to fight effectively like this anyway. As you can see with wild Pokémon, they do not always know the best course of action to take when in battle. It takes many years of training and battle experience in order for the Pokémon to develop their independence. It's taken me about 3 years, and I'm still training."

_"Three years? Has this guy just been training his Pokémon like this for that long?" _Ash thought to himself with astonishment.

_"What a guy, he's developed a completely new and unorthodox strategy that also seems to be extremely effective... but I wonder why I've never heard of him before, or even seen him at a Pokémon League competition," _pondered Brock.

_"Hee hee, this guy's pretty interesting. I know I should be rooting for Ash, but I can't help but feel that this guy is gonna win," _Dawn thought while blushing slightly. _"Ooo, I don't like it when there's more than one guy to choose from..."_

"Well, enough talking, we're here battle, not discuss training strategies," said Altaïr.

"Couldn't agree with you more, Pikachu, create some space between you and Glaceon!" ordered Ash.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu immediately began making short hops backwards with his four feet until it had created a gap of about 50 meters between him and Glaceon.

"Now, use Volt Tackle!"

Pikachu then began to run forward and pick up speed as a yellow aura of electricity consumed him.

"Pikapikapikapikapikapikapika," Pikachu chanted as he began to charge towards Glaceon. However, Glaceon had no intention of standing around in the face of this attack. In response to the attack, Glaceon's two cap endings spread apart and pointed horizontal while he began to charge towards Pikachu with even greater speed. As Glaceon charged, two small balls of ice energy formed at the cap endings, letting out a trail of teal light behind him. In a split second, the two small balls of energy grew larger and a teal aura began to engulf Glaceon. The two Pokémon charged with all their might towards the center of the field, but right before the two collided, Glaceon's aura solidified into a projectile-shaped ice block. Pikachu, surprised, couldn't stop his assault quickly enough due to the extreme speed and slammed head on into the block of ice.

"Chaaaa!" Pikachu was sent back forcefully when he made contact with the solid ice block, but Glaceon wasn't done. While Pikachu was in mid-flight, Glaceon shattered his ice shield and sent large chunks of hail hurtling towards Pikachu. Pikachu was helpless as he was still flying back from the force of the impact so the ice shards connected with Pikachu, causing heavy damage.

"No! Pikachu!" Ash yelled out in concern.

Pikachu hit the ground hard and slid several more meters before finally coming to a stop. His body was full of cuts and bruises from the vicious onslaught by Glaceon, and it was clear that he was out for the count.

"Pikachu is unable to battle, Glaceon is the winner!" announced Brock.

_"That was... amazing... yet brutal," _was all Dawn could think.

Ash quickly ran over to where Pikachu had landed and carefully picked him up off the ground.

"Pi...ka..." was all the little Pokémon could manage to say.

"Hey buddy... take a good long rest now, that was a tough fight," Ash said as he placed Pikachu down to rest on his front by a tree. When looking at Pikachu's wounds, apprehension shot up through Ash's mind.

_"That was really vicious... I-I don't know if I want this happening to another one of my Pokémon..."_

"Don't worry too much Ash, Glaceon's attacks may have seemed savage, but they cause wounds like any other Pokémon's attacks would. Pikachu will be fine after resting and receiving some treatment. Besides, Glaceon held back some of the ice shards that struck Pikachu before the battle ended so Pikachu wouldn't take any excessive damage," Altaïr told Ash.

_"What? Glaceon actually held back some of his attack?" _this didn't sit well in Ash's mind, knowing his opponent actually had to hold back in order not to completely annihilate his Pokémon. _"Do I really stand a chance against this guy?"_

Dawn noticed the defeated look on Ash's face and decided to take action.

"C'mon Ash, since when did you admit defeat to a battle before it was over? Pikachu may have lost, but you still have one more Pokémon, so you should just do the best you can and give a good fight!" Dawn seemed to have sparks in her eyes as she said this.

_"She's-she's right. I have to finish this battle. Better to lose with honor than surrender in shame, but I will make sure to forfeit the battle and match if my Pokémon begins to get mauled over."_

"Alright! I'm ready for the next battle, and I choose..." Ash reached for a ball on his belt and threw it. "Turtwig!"

A small, green and yellow, tortoise-like Pokémon emerged from the Pokéball. He had a large jawbone which made him look somewhat like a snapping turtle. On his back was a brown shell and a small seedling with two green leaves grew out of the top of his head.

"Turtwig!" cried the little grass Pokémon. Turtwig saw his opponent standing across the field and stood in a battle ready position. Ash knew that Turtwig was at a disadvantage against the ice-type, but he knew Turtwig was a strong fighter and always gave his all to win. However, Altaïr had other plans. He slowly lifted his hand and unlatched the teal Pokéball from the strap that ran across his chest. He turned his wrist without moving his arm and silently recalled Glaceon, and then re-attached the Pokéball to his strap.

Using slow movements, he moved his hand down to the green Pokéball, and held a finger in front of the button for several seconds, before seemingly making up his mind. He pressed the white button of the Pokéball, revealing his next Pokémon.

Another fox-like Pokémon appeared from the white flash, but this time, the Pokémon's body was tan-colored and slender. Her tails and ears were of a soft green color and resembled torn and tattered leaves. In other places on her body such as her leg joints, chest, and back was where smaller leaves of the same soft green color grew. Her paws, the inside of her ears, and her eyes were all of a darker brown color than the rest of her body. Her most prominent trait was a large, curled leaf that grew out of her forehead that was also the same soft, green color.

This time, Dawn used her pink Pokédex to analyze the new Pokémon.

_"Leafeon, the Verdant Pokémon - Leafeon is one of the two new species of the Eevee-evolutionary line, found in the Sinnoh region. Just like a plant, it uses photosynthesis. As a result, it is always enveloped in clean air."_

"Wow, Leafeon is beautiful," said a sparkly-eyed Dawn.

_"Too bad beauty can kill," _thought Brock, who knew what that phrase meant all too well.

"All right Turtwig, it looks like she's a grass-type too, keep you guard up," Ash told his Pokémon cautiously.

"Turt!" His Turtwig said in acknowledgment.

"Ok! Turtwig, start off with a Tackle attack!"

Turtwig immediately obeyed his trainer's order and began to charge towards Leafeon on the opposite end of the battle field. Ash knew all too well what might happen if he simply let Turtwig run straight up for a Tackle attack, so he quickly devised a plan to catch Leafeon off guard. When Turtwig was 5 meters away from his opponent, Ash sprung into action.

"Turtwig, pin Leafeon down with a Leech Seed attack now!"

Turtwig complied, jumping up above Leafeon and launching a small seed from the seedling on his head. However, Leafeon was quick to respond. In the blink of an eye, Leafeon seemed to vanish in thin air, only to reappear behind who Turtwig was still in the air.

"Wig?" the Pokémon said confusedly, as he hadn't realized that Leafeon was standing behind him on the ground.

In a flash, the tip of Leafeon's tail turned purple and she struck Turtwig where it hurt the most, on his underbelly.

"Turrrrttt!" cried the little turtle Pokémon while he flopped to the ground. He had no choice but to lie on his belly where he had been struck a second before. As he attempted to stand up, pain shot through all his limbs and then through his head, immediately causing him to faint in agony.

"Turtwig!" Ash cried as he ran towards where Turtwig lay. Turtwig's eyes were shut and he was clearly unconscious, so Ash could only stare in despair at his Pokémon who looked to be in great pain.

"Shit," mumbled Altaïr. "Looks like Leafeon overdosed on the poison." He began to walk to where Ash and Turtwig were, Leafeon following in suit.

"Wait a second," Brock said as Altaïr passed him, "How does your Leafeon know Poison Tail? I thought only Seviper could learn that attack."

"Anything's possible with a little training," answered Altaïr simply. He continued walking at a quicker pace towards Ash and Turtwig. Ash could only look up at Altaïr with concern in his eyes as Altaïr stopped before him. Then, Altaïr did the one thing he hadn't been seen doing the whole time he had been acquainted with the trio. He gave an order to Leafeon.

"Leafeon, please draw the poison out of Turtwig and treat him."

Ash's eyes widened as he heard this. Brock would have done the same if he could perform that feat. Dawn, who had not moved from her spot on the sidelines, could only look over at the two trainers with perplexity.

Ash let go of Turtwig and placed him back on the ground as Leafeon approached them, and then backed off to give the Pokémon room to operate. Leafeon turned Turtwig on his back and examined the wound she had inflicted a minute before on his underbelly. There was a large gash there that had already begun to turn red because of the poison. Though Turtwig was unconscious, he was sweating profusely and seemed to be gasping for breath. After examining the fallen Pokémon some more, Leafeon began to take action. She sat down on her hind legs and closed her eyes, seeming to meditate. Ash, Dawn, and Brock stood by dumbly and watched the Pokémon continue to sit perfectly still as she concentrated.

"What's she doing?," whispered Dawn to Brock.

"Who knows, just keep watching," Brock whispered back.

Minutes passed and Leafeon was still sitting in the same spot, focusing her powers to somehow heal Turtwig. Everyone stood and watched silently, but Ash began to get edgy as more time passed, and finally exploded when the pressure was too much.

"What is your Leafeon doing?!" he exclaimed. "Turtwig is in a lotta pain but your Pokémon who you told to heal him is just sitting there like she's sleeping!"

"Shut up. You'll break her concentration and then she'll have to start over again, which by then it may be too late," Altaïr said quietly but with a chilling tone.

That put Ash back in line, but it didn't ease his anxiety. More and more weight seemed to be crushing his sanity but before he could lose it, Leafeon made a motion.

Leafeon slowly got up from her sitting position and walked closer to Turtwig. She took one last look at the wound, and then pressed the leaf on the center of her forehead onto it. The leaf glowed bright green for several seconds, and then turned white. Turtwig's demeanor seemed to loosen as she continued pressing the leaf on his belly.

"Ah, I see," Brock muttered to himself.

"See what?" questioned Ash as he took his eyes off the two Pokémon for the first time.

"It seems like Leafeon can create antidotes and then apply them to wounds. This is a really amazing ability, since not many other Pokémon have such healing powers."

"You are correct Brock," Altaïr stated. "However, Leafeon can do a lot more than create antidotes for poisons, she can make a wide variety of medicines and other antidotes as well. In the past, there were several times when I took wounds that were fatal and was on the verge of death. She quickly picked up the ability for the first time in order to heal me when I took a direct bite from an Ekans.

"Wow..." breathed Dawn.

Altaïr noticed the worried look that lingered on Ash's face so he walked over to where Ash stood.

"Turtwig will be all right," Altaïr assured him. "Leafeon would know how to create an antidote for her own poison better than anyone."

Ash looked up at Altaïr and gave him a small smile. "Thanks."

Altaïr gave him a small nod and continued to watch Leafeon's progress.

_"I guess he's not as emotionless and heartless as I originally thought," _Ash contemplated.

* * *

Within the hour, Turtwig was up and running about. Leafeon's antidote not only drew the poison out of Turtwig, it also strengthened him, to the point where Turtwig was a little bit hyper-active. Pikachu had woken up from his nap as well, and received some potion from Brock for his battle wounds. Turtwig and Pikachu played about while the foursome took some more time to rest after the intense battle. All was calm, until a strange noise was heard.

_Grruuuummmbbleeee_

"What the heck!? Was that your stomach, Ash?" Dawn exclaimed.

"No, but now that you mention my stomach..." He looked down sadly at his empty stomach and patted it.

"Well then whose was it?" asked Dawn.

"Er..."

Dawn turned and looked at the owner of the voice, which belonged to Altaïr. He gave an embarrassed look, which was a first, because of his faux pas.

"Uh, guess I'm as hungry as you guys too... I haven't eaten for a... while," Altaïr looked away from the rest of them and gave a dubious look.

Dawn raised her eyebrow and questioned further. "How... long...?"

"...Three days."

Three jaws dropped when they heard this.

"How could you survive THREE DAYS without food," Ash shouted in bewilderment.

"Guess I got caught up in my training..." Altaïr gave a sheepish chuckle.

"Well, now would be as good a time as ever to start heading towards Lightcrown City," Brock declared.

"Totally!" agreed Dawn. She looked over towards Altaïr and gave him an inviting smile. "Want to come with?"

Altaïr looked a bit surprised at the offer and faltered a bit. "Uh, well I, um... you see... I have um..."

"C'mon, it's not like we bite or anything," giggled Dawn, as she grabbed his right arm.

_"Oh crap..."_

* * *

**Afterthought**

Well, that was quite intense no? Hopefully some of you are starting to see a trend in Altaïr's choice of Pokémon now.

Also, Altaïr's godlike skills have a reason to be. You'll just have to read on to find out. But his philosophy in Pokémon training is one that I have created in my own head as I played more Pokémon games and watched a few episodes of the anime.

It does make sense, does it not? Having the element of surprise since your opponent has no idea what your Pokémon is going to do, and sometimes the Pokémon's own _trainer _doesn't even know what it's going to do.

The unique abilities Altaïr's Pokémon such as Leafeon's healing powers and Glaceon controlling his cap endings to shoot ice as he pleases also stem from my theory of Pokémon training. Training a Pokémon to use combination attacks or sometimes just plain melee attacks in unique ways would give a giant edge over any ordinary trainer. I'm pretty sure others have thought of stuff like this, though. I just like to put an emphasis on it.

The title 'Dogfight' is just another way I'd call a fight.


	4. History Maker

**Foreword**

Well, this chapter may seem somewhat like a filler, just to have the characters do something while they walk, but there's a bit more going on as you'll all find out.

After all, it is a whole history of somebody.

Somebody makes an 'appearance' too.

* * *

**Chapter 4 - History Maker**

The day was in late-afternoon and the now-foursome walked down the long dirt road. As hungry as they were, they still managed to keep their spirits up, except for one member of the group.

Ash walked stiffly at the back of the group, with Pikachu on his shoulder, as he began to recall the battle he and Pikachu had went through only an hour ago.

_"Altaïr... that guy... I really never did stand a chance against him did I? I was so stupid to think I did in the first place," _Ash clenched his fists as his thoughts ran wild.

_"If he's a nobody yet so powerful... then... how do I know there're not more people out there like him? If there are more trainers as strong as he, then what does that make me? All my achievements... my victory at the Orange League and Battle Frontier... what do they mean?"_

Pikachu noticed a small twinkle in Ash's eye, and decided to converse with his trainer to cheer him up.

"Pika pikachu, Pikapi?" the little mouse Pokémon asked.

"It's nothing Pikachu." Ash pulled his hat over his eyes.

"Pikapika, cha pikachu!"

"Well, I was just thinking about... him."

"Kachu?"

"Yeah, the new guy." Ash lowered his voice. "Do you think we could ever be as strong as he is, Pikachu? I mean, he has a completely different way of training and fighting with his Pokémon, which makes them extremely powerful. I don't know, even though I want to train you guys my own way, I can't help but be somewhat... interested in his techniques. Oh man, I wish _she _was here, she could - no, would, help me calm this fire in my head."

"Pika..." sighed Pikachu as his ears drooped.

"You miss her too don't you?"

"Chuuu."

"Well, I guess she's having a lot of fun in Johto, winning a bunch contests and whatever. _Maybe even hanging out... or getting closer... with ... __him__." _Ash felt a wave of depression as he thought about that idea. Pikachu noticed his trainer's misery and patted Ash on the back of the head.

"Thanks Pikachu." Ash let out a small grin towards his partner and best friend. "I know you'll always be there for me..."

"Pikapi..."

* * *

"Hey Altaïr, how old are you?"

Altaïr looked down to his right at the beaming girl, and returned her smile with a neutral demeanor.

"15... I think"

"Ooo, that's the same age as Ash, though you somehow look a bit older than that. I'm 12 by the way! Brock's 20, isn't he old?" Brock frowned at her remark.

After a second, Altaïr's last two words registered in Dawn's head and she spun her head back to look towards him. "Wait a second... what do you mean, you think?"

"I don't know my birthday," replied Altaïr. He took his eyes off the girl and looked into the sky.

"Wha? Why not?" the coordinator inquired on. Brock and Ash soon began to listen to the conversation with interest.

Altaïr closed his eyes as he kept walking for several seconds before finally giving an answer.

"I don't know my parents."

Dawn, Brock, and Ash stared at the tall teenager with dumbfounded looks.

"What-what do you mean?"

Altaïr let out a long but soft sigh. "I guess I'll have to tell you about my past now."

The other three travelers simply gawked at him.

"I am... an orphan, or at least I think I am. I actually don't know if my parents are alive or not, but-"

"Wait, I thought you said your father was the one that named you," Dawn interrupted.

"The... _father-_," he emphasized the word father. "-is actually just an old hermit who lived on Mt. Coronet that decided to take me in when he found me on a cold night on the 5th of August, which is the date my supposed birthday is on. I was only an infant, so I don't remember much about him finding me, but I did grow up in his home, which lead me to believe he was my actual father. But when I was seven, or at least when he said I was seven, my 'father' became very ill, due to the cold climate and his old age, and he began to fade."

Dawn gave Altaïr a compassionate look, but he took no notice.

"Before he passed on, he told me the truth about how he found me a box in the snow, that one fateful day six years ago. I was extremely surprised at first, but then I felt the sadness of never knowing my parents. Then I felt a bit of anger when I realized they probably abandoned me. I don't really care now though, since they're probably either dead or having a great life for all I know." Altaïr's eyes narrowed as he said that. "So for the next year, I fended for myself until... my best friend came to me."

Everybody gave a confused look at Altaïr, but he continued on with his tale.

"My best friend... Eevee... who is now Glaceon, found me one day when I was about eight. Actually, I was the one who found Eevee. I found him half-frozen in the middle of December, and took him into my home to care for him. From then on, we were inseparable. I told him about my dream to leave the mountain to become a Pokémon trainer, and we immediately began to train together. Eevee was a strong little Pokémon with a great spirit, and was my best friend as well, so I promised him that I would never leave him and that he would always be by my side."

_"His relationship with Glaceon... it's almost like my relationship with Pikachu..."_

"When I turned ten, I walked down the mountain to the local laboratory to receive my trainer's license. However, when I requested one, I was turned down because I didn't have any sort of proof that I was indeed ten. I then resorted to stealing another kid's birth certificate and forging it, replacing the kid's name with my name, but I was young and it was easily deemed a fake. By then, I could only do one thing, beg. I begged the professor for a license and he finally took pity in me after half an hour and finally issued me a one. The professor was not well known and his lab was small, so he didn't carry and Pokédexs to give to new trainers, but I didn't mind. I was just glad that I had finally become a trainer, and Eevee shared the same feelings." Altaïr stopped his story and seemed to reminisce something for a moment, before quickly continuing on.

"We then set out for the gym of Oreburgh, but Eevee was easily defeated by Roark's rock Pokémon. That defeat crushed my spirit, since I was only ten and had no family or support, so I began to wander through the regions, training Eevee and battling other trainers. Eevee soon became a powerhouse, but I still didn't feel that I was ready to compete in gyms and leagues. I also still had Eevee as my only Pokémon, so I began to search for other suitable team members. I don't know why I did it, but I managed to acquire five more Eevees in the year so I then began to evolve a few of them." Altaïr fiddled with his Pokéballs one by one as he pressed on.

"First I evolved Flareon, Vaporeon, and Jolteon, in that order, through the use of elemental stones. Then, one night while I was training with one of my other Eevees, he evolved into an Umbreon, thus giving me my fourth evolved Eevee. When I came back to Sinnoh after I had turned twelve, I visited a strange forest and fought some wild Pokémon, and it was there that the Eevee now known as Leafeon evolved. I now had five evolved Eevees, but my first and strongest Eevee hadn't evolved yet." He then brought his hand back up to the teal Pokéball at the top of the strap. He cracked a small smile.

Well, that changed when I returned to my home with only Eevee by my side for reasons I don't even know myself. I had dropped my five other Eevee-evolutions at the Pokémon Center and decided to revisit the old place. It was the middle of winter, and it had just snowed recently so when I got to the house, an avalanche occurred. It was a rather small avalanche though, so I was able to keep my head above the snow as I was swept away, but Eevee wasn't so lucky. He was buried almost as soon as the snow fell upon him, and was gone within seconds." A look of sadness crept into Altaïr's eyes. Ash couldn't help by feel a little bit of sympathy for the guy that had just destroyed him in a battle.

"When the avalanche stopped, I began searching for my lost friend, digging and calling out his name for two days and nights. On the third morning, I was about to give up hope, but then I heard a loud rumble, and I thought I was going to get hit by another avalanche. However, when I turned around and looked up the mountainside, I saw Glaceon running down towards me..." This time when Altaïr paused his story, he let out a tiny tear out the corner of his eye, but none of the others noticed it. He hastily wiped it away and went back to his neutral composure.

"And... that completed my team. After Glaceon's evolution, I decided it was time to get back into the competition. I easily earned eight badges in the Sinnoh region and entered the Sinnoh League in a timespan of six months. But... that's where things went wrong again, as I was defeated... in the first round."

_"What? How could Altaïr have been defeated in the first round while I was able to make it to the top 16 and 8 in the leagues I entered?" _This puzzled Ash greatly.

"I fell into a state of depression and lost all hope in myself. Nothing seemed to work out at all for me, and I thought I had nothing to live for... so I nearly committed suicide, until I remembered my promise to Glaceon. That promise brought me back to reality, and I decided to take a hiatus from training to rethink everything that I had gone through, and what I had to do next. During that break is when I developed my technique of training and battling, and I devoted myself into training my Pokémon to be the best. I didn't participate in a single league for the next three years, and continued to develop myself and my Pokémon. We had our problems but we endured them and kept through the years. A couple of months after I turned 15, I finally decided that we were ready, and we started competing in the Sinnoh League again. And so... here I am, telling you guys my entire life story... dunno what compelled me to do that though." Altaïr gazed at the sky silently.

_"Wow, all the stuff he's been through... it makes my life seem so... perfect," _Ash thought.

_"This guy is quite the character. No wonder he's the way he is," _Brock deduced.

Dawn's thoughts were in disarray, as she thought about Altaïr's story and how he had been so strong... so determined... so loving for his Pokémon. Her thoughts then began to turn into a fantasy, as she daydreamed of being held in his lean, yet strong, arms. She began to phase out of reality as she saw herself in kissing a boy, but she couldn't tell who it was. The height of the boy seemed to change every couple of seconds, from tall to short. Dawn's heart began to race as she was all of a sudden looking at a pair of eyes, then a face, then a mouth, coming towards her, but before she could tell who it was, a voice intruded into her fantasy.

"Hey, we're here."

Dawn snapped back into reality as she looked around, seeing nothing but the sun and blue sky in front and a river with a bridge they had crossed while listening to Altaïr's story.

"Where? I don't see any city," Dawn said with a frown, as her wonderful, romantic fantasy had just been broken for nothing.

"Try looking down," chuckled Ash.

As she looked down, she indeed saw a city. A very large and beautiful city in fact, with seemingly hundreds of skyscrapers and other tall buildings, all nestled in a colossal valley a couple miles away. It was not dark yet, so there were no spectacular lights shining, but the city looked magnificent, nonetheless. Dawn felt a surge of excitement in her stomach, but then remembered how hungry she was. She gave a slight groan, and wished that the city was not still a mile or two down the valley.

"Haha, race you all!"

Ash broke into a sprint down the slope of the valley, laughing with joy.

"Heh, guess the thought of food is giving him the strength to run..." Brock said amusedly.

"Well, we'd better not fall behind," said Altaïr. With that, he began sprinting after Ash as well. Brock then gave a sigh and chased after the two younger boys.

Dawn stood and smiled for several seconds at the two energetic teenagers, until she realized she was being left behind and she began to give chase as well.

* * *

On the western side of the valley, a teenaged girl stood silently and looked down at the immense city that lay before her.

The girl held a small object in her hands that were clad in white gloves with black fingers. She slowly brought the object up to her chest, which was accentuated by her red, tight, zip-up blouse, and held it there tightly. Her feet that wore red and yellow sneakers shifted as she looked down at her legs, which were dressed in a white mini-skirt with a pair of blue spandex shorts underneath. The breeze blew her brown hair, styled with long locks that hung down the side of her head under a red bandanna, into her large, sapphire eyes. The girl soon became irritated by the hair in her eyes and she removed it from her face with a flick of her head. She then pulled her hands off her chest and looked at the object she held once again; a half of a ribbon. Her eyes began to water as she began to think about the owner of the other half.

_"Ash, where are you..."_

_"I need you..."_

* * *

**Afterthought**

Hmm I wonder who that person is…

So now Altaïr has a bit of background to himself, which is always important in any standing character in a story. Thoughts or comments?

Ages revealed too, which I've already disclosed in the beginning of the fic, except for Altaïr's. Originally I wasn't going to have their ages posted but then I thought eh, what difference could it make? Ages are just reinforced in this chapter, as well as revealing Altaïr's, since he was a bit of a 'surprise' to all of you.

The title 'History Maker' comes from a song that I have, by Delirious. Just thought it goes along with what happens in this chapter.


	5. Dare

**Foreword**

Welcome to Lightcrown City.

This place is not canon in the anime or games, so please don't try to search for it.

I envisioned Lightcrown City somewhere along the lines of New York or Chicago, though I haven't been to either of those places. It's just a really big city, ok?

* * *

**Chapter 5 – Dare**

"Wow! This place is so huge!" exclaimed Dawn, tilting her head back to gaze at the soaring skyscrapers with awe.

"And a huge place like this must be occupied by a huge number of people! And a huge number of people means huge number of beautiful girls!" There was no need to see who made that remark.

Ash however, was a little less enthusiastic about the sights. "Can we PLEASE get something to eat now that we finally made it down here?"

"I agree," added Altaïr.

"Oh alright, sheesh! Boys and their stomachs. Do they have any strength when they're without food?" griped Dawn.

"Hey hey, I've gone three days 'aight? Chastise the other guy please," Altaïr said displeasurably.

Dawn giggled at that and eyed Ash coyly. Ash just raised an eyebrow with puzzlement.

"Well, where should we go to eat? Place like this should have plenty of restaurants," Brock observed.

"Anything that comes out fast and hot and tasty is fine with me. Let's just go!" whined Ash.

* * *

The four travelers walked down the bustling, city street of Lightcrown, with the female of the group eyeing the stores and the males eyeing for a place to eat. The thought of shopping seemed to take Dawn's mind off her stomach as she began walking towards a large department store called Stacy's. Pikachu noticed her absence after the remaining three members of the group had walked a bit further and he tugged on Ash's hair to get his attention.

"What's up, Pikachu?"

"Pika, Pikapi," said Pikachu as he pointed towards Dawn, who was already opening the doors to the giant store.

"Wuh-hey Dawn! Don't you think we should get a bite to eat first?" Ash shouted over the loud roars of the passing cars.

Dawn didn't seem to take notice of his calls as she walked into the store with stars in her eyes.

Brock sighed and declared, "There's no stopping a girl from passing a store like that without having to take a walk in."

"Well, it could be hours until she comes back out. Let's just get a bite to eat and check back later," said the extremely hungry trainer.

And with that, the three young men and Pokémon continued their quest for a meal.

* * *

Dawn gasped when her eyes adjusted to the bright light of the store. She had died and gone to heaven. The store was unlike any she had ever been in or even imagined, as it was gargantuan. The place was like a citadel, being so many stories high. In front of her were endless rows of checkout counters that had probably over a hundred women working at them, and seemingly thousands of shelves, racks, tables, glass cases, mannequins, you name it, all abundant with anything and everything a woman would need. "Brock would go crazy if he was in here... for the girls of course." Behind the counters were two majestic staircases that led to a second floor that was also full with clothes, jewelry, perfume, and accessories.

Dawn ran to the center of the store and twirled around, ogling the magnificent balconies of even higher floors that required elevators to reach. Before she could run off to explore the shopping labyrinth however, a voice called out to her.

"Excuse, miss, have you heard about the big annual Pokémon contest that Stacy's hosts every year?"

At the sound of the words 'Pokémon' and 'contest,' Dawn spun around so fast her hair whipped a passerby in the face. The bandanna-wearing brunette frowned a bit but decided not to press the issue.

"Contest? There's a contest here? And how did you know I was a coordinator?" Dawn asked the blonde-haired department store clerk that had spoken to her.

The middle-aged clerk pointed at the pink Pokétch on Dawn's wrist and smiled pleasantly. "That gave it away, it's a pretty big thing with the coordinator's I've noticed. We sell Pokétch's here as well, but I think you want to hear about the contest some more, don't you?"

Dawn could only nod in excitement as she placed her hands on her cheeks. The girl that had been whipped in the face by her blue hair was also listening into the conversation.

"Well, the annual Lightcrown Contest Festival is a big event here in Lightcrown City. It's an unofficial contest, but that doesn't stop over the usually over 50 coordinators from coming to compete for the prizes."

"Ooo!" squealed Dawn. "What are the prizes?"

"Patience miss, let me explain the rules and procedures first. First of all, the Lightcrown Contest is a double contest, meaning you'll be using two Pokémon for everything, including appeals. You have to impress the judges by showing off how well your Pokémon can appeal as a team, which is a lot easier said than done. You don't have to stick with the same two Pokémon, however, so be sure to create good match ups of Pokémon for the appeals as well as the battles. Since this contest attracts many coordinators, it has two 3 minute appeal rounds on separate days. The first round of appeals is on the first day and will determine which 32 coordinators get to go into the next contest battle round. There will then be 16 double contest battles which will leave 16 coordinators standing, and that will conclude the events of the first day of the festival. Do you understand all of this?

Dawn looked at the store clerk with some annoyance. "Yes," she said slightly scoffing. "I'm not _that_ young..."

The blonde-haired clerk looked at the girl embarrassingly. "Oh, I''m sorry! It's just that you're so adorable and cute, which made me think of you like a little girl!"

"Er... maybe you should just keep telling me about the contest..." Dawn said nervously although she was somewhat flattered. _"She's a little... queer..."_

The second listener giggled to herself as she covered her mouth with her white gloves.

"Hehe, I'm sorry, you just remind me a lot of my daughter. But anyway, on the second day of the contest, the first thing that is up is the second appeal round, which will weed out the next eight coordinators that get to compete in the final contest battles. In the contest battles, coordinators will battle their way up to the top like tournament, so that means you will have to defeat two trainers in order to make it to the championship battle. Now I heard the championship battle will have a special twist to it, but I don't exactly know the details to that. And... I think that's about it."

"This sounds so totally awesome!" said Dawn excitedly. "Where do I sign up?"

"Come with me and I can register you for the contest here."

"What? Here in a department store?" questioned Dawn.

"Yes, the Lightcrown Contest Festival is hosted by Stacy's, which I think I forgot to mention. Oh, another thing, all coordinators participating in the contest get complimentary rooms at the Lightcrown Plaza, the best hotel in the city!"

"Really?" Dawn said with wide eyes. The thought of being in a hotel excited her even more than she already was, as she and her friends had been in the wild for quite sometime. She had not slept in a good bed or taken a hot bath in weeks. "But wait, why?"

"Well you see, this contest attracts people from all over the region to this city, since the contest is not aired live on television. Since the contest is a two day event, people need places to stay, so they have to stay at hotels. And also, many people not only come to watch the contest, but also to shop, since there are some of the greatest stores here in the region, such as Stacy's. So as you can see, this event brings a huge amount of people and business to hotels and stores."

"That makes sense, I guess," said Dawn. "Now I really want to sign up!"

"Come right this way," said the clerk, leading Dawn towards a booth between the staircases.

The brunette was eavesdropping remained where she was, thinking to herself. _"I guess... I could enter this contest. I haven't been in one in a while, since I'm... skipping the Johto Grand Festival..."_

The girl's eyes began to tear as she thought back to her journey in Johto. _"If only I had been more focused on contests than on... Drew-"_ she let a tear fall as she said that name in her head, _"-I wouldn't have lost the heart to compete. Well, maybe Ash will be around here somewhere. His mother told me that when she heard from him a week ago, they were on the road to Lightcrown, and since he's traveling with another... girl... who's a coordinator too..."_

The coordinator struggled to control her emotions from getting loose, but she couldn't hold them in any longer and finally let them out. As she began sobbing, people turned there heads and looked at the depressed girl, but nobody was kind enough intervene and try to ask about the problem. She slowly walked deeper into the store to search for a bathroom so she could have some more privacy.

_"Please be around here somewhere..."_

* * *

After a hardy lunch, the three young men walked down the street wobbly as they made their way back to the department store they left Dawn at.

Altaïr gave a loud yawn as he patted his stomach in satisfaction. "Well, that'd last me for about... six hours. Not eating for three days sure does a number of things to you."

"That was enough food to keep going for the next whole week!" said Ash happily. Of course he was exaggerating as he would probably be eating the same amount the following day.

Pikachu had been easily satisfied, since all he needed was the ketchup bottle he had taken the fast food joint. He was enjoying the condiment happily as he sat on Ash's head.

"C'mon let's move a bit quicker," Brock ordered. "We'd better find Dawn or we may be in a mess."

Altaïr let out another yawn.

The three males made it to the giant department store and stood in front of it, staring amazedly at the sheer size of the multi-storied building.

"So... who wants to go in to get her?" asked Brock, knowing all to well what lay in wait on the other side.

But before any of the other two boys could answer, a girl bursted out the large, golden doors. It was Dawn.

"Heeeyyy... whoa!" yelled Altaïr as Dawn collided into him.

Dawn fell backwards on her rear, since Altaïr was taller and heavier than she, and Altaïr flinched and stepped backwards.

"Ouch..." said the girl as she rubbed her back with her eyes closed. She heard a soft laugh and opened her eyes to see a gloved hand in her face.

"Need a hand?"

As Dawn looked up, she saw the smiling faces of a boy and a Pikachu. She smiled back and took Ash's hand, feeling herself blush slightly when she did so.

However, a grunt interrupted the two youngster's moment.

Ash, Dawn, and Brock turned their hands to see Altaïr bent forward and holding his... crotch... in pain.

"She kicked me."

* * *

After several embarrassed apologies from Dawn, the foursome was now strolling down a street while Dawn talked about her experience in the store.

"And the prizes are a 2000 dollar shopping spree at Stacy's or an all-expense paid trip to the Mt. Coronet Ski Resort, as well as a really cool ribbon attached to a trophy!"

"Those prizes don't sound too appealing to me..." Altaïr said.

"Yeah, really, what kind of guy would want a 2000 dollar shopping spree or a trip to a ski resort? I mean, the trip could be ok, but it's not something that I'd want." Ash added.

"Well, you guys do realize that most male coordinators are a little... let's just say... different." Brock pointed out, grinning at his own quip.

"Hey, what about Drew? He seems like a pretty normal guy to me," retorted Ash.

"I guess so. Hm, how do you think Drew is doing over there in Johto... with May." a knowing smile crept into Brock's mouth.

"Hm, well, since the Johto Grand Festival is getting closer, I guess Drew and May would be training for contests somewhere." Brock smacked his forehead at Ash's lame response.

_"How dense can this kid get?!"_ Brock cleared his throat and tried to get Ash again. "Well, when the Grand Festival's over in Johto, where do you think May will go next?" He made sure to only use May's name this time to draw him in.

"I dunno, Orange Islands maybe?"

_"ARGH! Why won't he catch on? I swear, sometimes it's just impossible to screw with Ash's head when I talk about May."_

Brock decided to take one last shot at it.

"Well, there are contests here right? What if May decides to come to compete in the contests here? How would that make you _feel_." Brock smirked, knowing that this would definitely put him on the spot.

"Ooo, that'd be soooo awesome if she came here! I've always wanted to meet her, since Ash has told me so much about her!" Brock glared at Dawn who had interrupted his mission to get Ash to display his affections to Brock. After a second, Ash spoke once again and Brock immediately shifted his gaze back to the trainer.

"W-Well, I guess it would be, nice, if she came... here..." Ash finally let out a very faint blush, but shook himself out of it. Pikachu chortled as he finally realized what Brock had been trying to do.

Brock sighed and shook his head, knowing that was all he would get out of Ash. _"Sometimes, I wonder if Ash can sense his own feelings."_

Altaïr was now walking silently behind the group, with a somewhat bored expression on his face.

"So, anyway, I want to tell you guys more about the contest!" said Dawn cheerily. "The contest begins in three days, so I don't have a lot of time to train. I need spend every second of the day training so I can win that shopping spree!" Her eyes lit up as she imagined all the wonderful things she could buy. She knew it would be tough, but she had to win so she could have all the material possessions she wanted. _"It would also be a great opportunity to prepare myself for the Sinnoh Grand Festival,"_ Dawn thought off to the side. Suddenly, an idea struck her. She eyed the two younger males in the group and giggled to herself.

"Hey Ash and Altaïr, how about you two compete in the contest too?"

Ash pivoted his head in a blur and looked at Dawn like she had just asked him to take his pants off.

"Wh-What? Why?"

"Well..." Dawn paused a second to think of the right words to say. "If more of us competed, then there's a better chance that one of us might win... and get that shopping spree. And it'd give me some more competition if you two were to battle me at some point!" she added hastily without thinking what she had just said through.

Brock raised his eyebrow as he heard this. "So you want those two to compete so you have a better chance to get that shopping spree?"

"No! Well, yes, kind of... but that wasn't the only reason! And I just thought it would be a lot of fun if we all competed together, since we all have to stay here until I finish the contest anyway. I just don't want you guys to be bored." Dawn tried to put on a cute face after she said this.

"Um, I don't think I should, Dawn. I've only competed in one other contest before, and I got knocked out in the first battle round. I probably don't have much of a chance of winning this time, seeing how there's going to be more coordinators out there. Besides, I have to train with my Pokémon... so we can be better." Ash's eyes narrowed as he remembered the battle he had with Altaïr only a couple of hours ago. Whether it was in sadness or anger, nobody knew.

"Aw, fine," pouted Dawn. "Well, what about you Altaïr?"

"What?"

Dawn felt a pulsing in her temple since he apparently hadn't been listening to a word she had said. Putting aside her annoyance, she voiced her proposition again.

"You and me, competing in the contest, how does that sound?"

"Uh..."

"Pleeeeaaaassseee?" Dawn put on her best puppy dog pout to try to get on his soft side.

Altaïr mumbled something under his breath.

Dawn decided it was time to take more drastic measures. She slowed her pace until she was beside Altaïr and placed her left hand on his right shoulder as she walked next to him. Altaïr tried to look away while keeping a straight face.

"Please compete in the contest with me... you're so strong... and smart... and your Pokémon are amazing too," said Dawn in a surly tone while leaning slightly into him.

Altaïr still didn't seem quite convinced.

"Or are you too _scared_?"

That did the trick, but only barely. "Fine," grunted Altaïr, and he said no more.

Dawn began to giggle uncontrollably, "Yay! I knew I could get you to do it!"

Altaïr yawned.

* * *

It was 9 p.m., and the sky began to darken. The four travelers were getting tired, as they had been walking all day, so they decided it was a good time to find a Pokémon Center and turn in.

As if everything else wasn't oversized in the city, the Pokémon Center was mammoth as well. Ash and Dawn dropped all their Pokémon except for Pikachu with Nurse Joy, while Brock tried to drop down into a conversation with the nurse. Of course, Croagunk was there to put him back in line. The group requested for a standard double bunk bed room that Pokémon Centers had for trainers to stay in and Ash, Dawn, and Brock began to walk down the hall to the room. Altaïr however, remained where he was.

"Uh, you coming?" asked Brock.

"Actually, I prefer the outdoors. I'm going to sleep outside of the city tonight." With that, he left the center.

As Altaïr walked towards the edge of the city, he decided to take his time to watch the sights.

_"It's been a while... since I've been here. Not much has changed though."_

Altaïr ambled down the still noisy street slowly, since a city like Lightcrown City was bound to have a great deal of nightlife.

When Altaïr had reached the end of the city, he looked up the steep slope of the valley and gave a loud yawn.

_"What a day... better look for a suitable place to camp out now."_

By the time he made it to where the valley met the forest and river, the sun had set and it was already pitch black. He turned around to get a look at the city lights, and then strode over the bridge to where the forest began to thicken.

_"Here's a good spot."_

As Altaïr began to set up camp, he noticed a small glow between the trunks of some faraway trees. After deliberating whether or not he should investigate, he slowly crept towards the orange glow. When he emerged from the thicket, he got a clear view of the source of the glow.

The source was a small fire, cackling as it burned. There was nobody around at the moment, so Altaïr began to make his way back to his own area, until he heard some rustling in the bushes across the small clearing.

Altaïr watched intently, waiting for whoever or whatever to appear. His patience paid off as a figure emerged from the bushes. When the figure walked into the light of the fire, Altaïr could see that it was a person carrying some small logs. Upon closer inspection, it was a girl, with her most noticeable traits being her long locks of brown hair and a red bandanna on her head. The girl looked to be pretty young, as well as tired. Or was it a look of sadness?

_"What's a young girl like her doing out here when she could be at the Pokémon Center in the city?"_ Altaïr asked himself in his head.

The girl threw a couple of the logs into the small fire and sat down on the ground with her back turned to Altaïr. Altaïr hunkered down in the bushes and watched her for another minute, before finally becoming bored and deciding he needed some rest after the long day.

After Altaïr had already departed, the girl spoke out loud to herself. "Where are you... Ash?"

When Altaïr made it back to his campsite, he took a seat on a stump and opened his backpack to pull out a toothbrush and a small tube of toothpaste.

_"Mm, I'll shower tomorrow morning. Too tired now."_

He checked the time on a small digital clock he kept in his pocket, which read 10:30 p.m.

_"Hopefully, I can do what I need to do here without too many problems... but first thing's first."_ And with that, he began to brush his teeth.

* * *

**Afterthought**

So… there's a contest in the city eh? Well, let's see what the characters do in preparation of that. Semi-shippiness here or there, but I've been stuffing a lot of that in each chapter anyway. Dawn may seem a bit out of character compared to the anime but as the youngest and as well as being more outgoing, I've decided to portray her like that. Anyway, she's just going through that stage (puberty and hormones and that good stuff; she is 12 after all).

Not much else to mention. Many allusions however…

The title 'Dare' is another reference to a song I had, by Gorillaz. Basically, Dawn's pulling of Altaïr into the contest is like a dare.


	6. Training Wheels

**Foreword**

With the great Lightcrown Contest Festival in just a few days, what will Dawn and Altaïr do for their training?

Ok that was a pathetic attempt at sounding like the narrator for the anime… anyway let's get the show on the road!

Oh yea, just a note, since I'm not sure if I ever touch on this in the actual chapters or on SPPf. As of now, I will say that this takes place in around September, and the first chapter takes place on a Wednesday. So in this chapter, it is Thursday, as a night had just passed. That also means that the contest is to take place on Saturday, so there is much to go on in next two days. Hopefully this will create an internal timeline for everybody. I shouldn't have to change this information as it's already carved in stone on my timeline.

* * *

**Chapter 6 - Training Wheels**

The sun rose over the east side of the valley and shined onto the glorious Lightcrown City. It was very early, 6 a.m. to be exact, so many of the residents of the city were still asleep. However, that didn't stop a certain girl from waking early up to prepare for the long day ahead of her.

Dawn opened her eyes and looked up at the bunk above her, which was unoccupied. She sat up and turned her gaze towards the two sleeping males in the bunk on the other side of the small room. Ash snored lightly in his slumber while Brock appeared to be mumbling quietly to himself.

"Ohh, Nurse Joy... Mmm, Officer Jenny..."

The young girl, who was not new to the sexual desires in adults, shuddered as she tried to push out the images that Brock most likely had in his head. Dawn quietly pulled off her covers and stepped onto the carpeted floor, picking up her normal clothes and items needed for morning personal hygiene. She quietly tiptoed over to the small bathroom to perform her morning routine, quietly shutting the door behind her.

For a girl that cares a lot about her external appearance, Dawn sure knew how to hasten herself when she knew her precious training time was limited. She brushed her teeth, showered, and got dressed in a record time of 15 minutes, even when she took a bit of time to do her hair.

When she exited the bathroom, Dawn quickly grabbed her backpack and began to head out the door. When the she was about to turn the knob however, she figured that she should leave a note for Ash and Brock, so Dawn walked over to a small desk in the corner of the room and wrote a quick note on a sticky note that the desk had.

_"Out training, call me when you wake up."_

Dawn looked at her note with satisfaction and headed out the room, but not before thinking up some fantasies of what Ash could say when he called her.

* * *

Altaïr awoke from his slumber with a painful back. He grunted loudly and pounded on it.

_"Note to self, don't sleep with back to tree."_

Altaïr got up from his sitting position where he slept leaning back on a tree and began stretching his back out. It was early morning, and the light shined through the trees of the forest in long rays. The day was just beginning, and there was much work to be done. Once Altaïr finished stretching, he began to change into another plain white T and a pair of running shorts and shoes. After he had done so, he grabbed all six of his Pokéballs from his backpack strap and held them all in both of his hands.

"Everybody out, morning run."

The Pokéballs all opened up, revealing all six of his Pokémon. Standing side by side in a military style lineup were, from left to right, his Flareon, Vaporeon, Leafeon, Umbreon, Glaceon, and Jolteon. They patiently awaited Altaïr to give the distance for the day.

"Mm, we gotta train for the contest as soon as possible. Let's just go for a 10 K."

With that, all six Pokémon and their trainer took off running. Altaïr, being only human, was easily left behind by his extremely quick and agile Pokémon, and Jolteon, being the fastest of the team, easily pulled away from his five teammates to quickly finish his run.

Meanwhile, the brunette bandanna-headed girl had just woken up as well and was preparing to make her journey back into the city to continue her mission. As she began to walk down the valley side, she began to formulate a plan.

_"I think I'll check every Pokémon Center in the city first... there's not too many, like three or four? Ash and Brock and their other friend should still be sleeping, so I should be able to find them."_

The girl had begun her day with a more optimistic approach. She walked with a bit more spring in her step and held her head up as she traveled down the side of the valley. The sun shined in her face as she smiled and thought to herself, _"I'll see you soon."_

* * *

Dawn had made it out of the west entrance of the city without a hitch, and began to walk up the grassy slope of the valley. As she looked around, she noticed a figure that was walking down towards the city, but she gave no second thought about who it was. There were only two days until the contest and she had no time to lose. After a very long walk up the incline, she finally made it to where she could see the edge of the forest and the bridge they crossed when they arrived the day before.

"Now, to find a good spot to train. Hm... I wonder where Altaïr is... he said he was sleeping outside last night..."

Before she could talk to herself more, she saw a dark silhouette running through the trees where they were the least dense. Debating whether or she should follow the person or begin training, her curiosity got the best of her and she ran towards the area where she last saw the person running to. It didn't take her long to find the person, since she quickly reached a small clearing in the forest where a single tree stood. The silhouette she had tracked was leaning up against the tree under its shadow and in front of the person were six smaller figures. She couldn't see who the person or figures were because of the small amount of light that shined in the early morning, but she immediately deduced that the person was Altaïr from his deep voice when he spoke.

"Alright, good run guys. You all just take a break while I freshen up. Vaporeon, if you would, please."

With that, Altaïr's five other Pokémon dispersed to separate areas of the clearing while the blue Pokémon that had fins and webbed ears jumped up onto the lone tree. Dawn watched inquisitively, wondering what was going on between Vaporeon and her trainer.

Her question was answered when Altaïr began to strip off his clothes. Dawn could only stare at the teenaged boy's body with wide eyes as he pulled his white T-shirt over his head. He was still in the shadow however, so she couldn't spot every minute detail, but she could see his slim yet somewhat toned figure, being skinniest at the waist and broader at the shoulders. He wasn't overly muscular however, as his chest was quite flat and his arms were on the lanky side. Altaïr continued next with his running shorts that covered up to his knees. His watcher felt herself become extremely warm as she watched him let his shorts drop to the grass, leaving him in his boxers. Dawn held her breath, awaiting to see what he would do next...

Altaïr then took off his boxers, leaving him completely naked under the shadow of the tree. Dawn immediately felt a surge of exhilaration and guilt as she watched him perform the feat.

_"Wait, why am I watching him... since when was I... how..."_

But Dawn couldn't complete her thoughts as she began scanning Altaïr's body. More specifically, at the new area that was now revealed to her. However, before she could focus on that area, Altaïr turned his back to Dawn and looked up into the tree at Vaporeon. Dawn was now staring at the young man's rear, and she became hotter than ever on the inside.

_"He's... got a nice... WAIT. WHAT AM I DOING?!"_

Dawn tore her eyes off the scene she was watching and began to scold herself severely.

_"What are you doing Dawn? Since when did you become a Peeping Tom? I know that I'm starting to... change... and like boys more, but that doesn't mean I have to lose all of my decency! Oh my gosh, I can't believe I just... ahhh I don't understand myself anymore!"_

The coordinator felt like screaming out loud in frustration, but then her better judgment brought her back. She had begun to sweat and pant a little bit but now her mind was back on track.

_"I think... I should go find another place to train..."_

* * *

Ash opened his eyes slowly but quickly covered them as he was blinded by the bright light shining through the window.

"AHH! THE LIGHT!" screamed Ash.

He clumsily rolled off the side of his bed and fell with a thud on the floor. The teenager silently cursed at the light and at himself as he stood up. Ash looked up at the top bunk, expecting to see Brock snoozing up there, but the bed was unoccupied, though the covers were in a mess. As Ash pondered where Brock could be, he heard the sound of water and singing in the bathroom.

_"Oh man, Brock's singing in the shower... better make sure I don't hear any of that."_

Ash looked back at his bed and saw Pikachu still sleeping at the foot of his bed. Luckily for the trainer, he hadn't kicked Pikachu when he tumbled off the bed, which may have lead to a couple thousand nasty volts of electricity to shoot through his body.

Turning his head, Ash looked at the bed where Dawn was supposed to be in, but she too, was absent.

"Hm, she can't be in the bathroom, since Brock's in there..." he said out loud this time.

He quickly scanned the room, spotting the sticky note on the table right away. The teenaged boy picked the note up and read it to himself aloud.

"Out training, call me when you wake up."

Ash walked over to where his backpack lay and pulled out a small yellow device known as the PokéNav. The time on the gadget read 10:03 a.m. so Ash decided it was time for him to get some breakfast. He figured calling Dawn could wait until after he got some food in his hungry stomach. Despite eating a great feast of fast food the day before, he still had room for the next meal.

"Hey Pikachu-," Ash whispered into the yellow Pokémon's ear. "-wanna go get some food?"

Pikachu awoke groggily and saw his trainer looking down at him.

"Chaaaa," yawned Pikachu. He stretched himself out for a few seconds before shaking off his sleepiness and then jumping onto Ash's shoulder.

"Alright then, let's go buddy!" Ash said as he opened the door and walked out of the room towards the cafeteria.

Ash entered the cafeteria to find it relatively empty, since it was already pretty late in the morning for most people that were on Pokémon journeys.

"Hm, alright, I think I'll get..."

Within five minutes, Ash had filled three plates with toast, pancakes, sausages, bacon, scrambled eggs, hash brown, fruit, bagels, cereal, and whatever other kinds of breakfast foods existed in the cafeteria. Pikachu settled for a small plate of hash brown with a mountain of ketchup on top.

"Ok! Let's dig in!" Ash exclaimed happily.

"Mind if I grab a banana from you?" Ash turned around to see Brock smiling at him and his food.

"Go right ahead." The trainer took a large bite out of a piece of toast as he continued speaking. "So I decided to come here to eat first since you were showering, and I already showered last night." He then brought a spoonful of cereal to his mouth before remembering something else.

"Oh yea, Dawn's out training if you were wondering." Ash took a forkful of bacon and shoved it into his mouth. "Said to call her when we wake up."

"Did you?" asked Brock while he peeled the banana.

"Nope, not yet. Had to eat first." Ash then began to shove mouthfuls of everything at an alarming rate.

"Whoa! Slow down Ash. What would the ladies say if they saw you eating like that, or even worse, me sitting next to you eating like that?"

The younger boy chuckled as he paused in his food gorging. "Is that all you ever think about Brock? I swear, over the years you seem to be getting even more desperate."

Instead of Brock going into his depressed state when a person mentions his failures at getting women, he simply smirked at the naïve boy.

"Oh, well, I thought _you_ would care about your appearance around women, seeing how a specific someone has caught your eye, or rather, has had your eye, am I right?"

Ash immediately turned crimson at Brock's words, but tried his best to maintain his composure.

"W-What are you talking about?" Ash managed to stammer.

"Oh I think you very well know what I'm talking about." Brock was enjoying the pressure he was putting on Ash. He knew he could get Ash to crack open and spill his feelings to him, and when Ash did, he would be there to help him. It was the kind of strange brotherly relationship Brock had with Ash that compelled him to do so.

"Uh... I-I-I well... y-y-you see..."

A PokéNav rang, and the owner answered it with amazing speed. Brock slapped his forehead in agitation as his plan had been foiled once again.

"Hello? Oh hey Dawn... Yeah, uh, I didn't check who it was... We're doing fine here, just having some breakfast. Want us to bring some food to you?... Yeah yeah, I know you haven't eaten anything for a while but that bag of chips from the vending machine last night... Hey, it's your fault you skipped dinner to go into some department store... Whoa, ok calm down, we'll meet you there and bring you some food... Alright see you later."

"Where's Dawn at?" asked Brock after he had put aside his frustration.

"West side of the city, so let's go meet her there I guess. Oh, and bring some food, she seemed really cranky about that." Ash said as he rolled his eyes.

"Heh, well, that girl has gotta eat something sometime. By the way, I wonder where Altaïr is at. Haven't heard from him in a while."

"Eh, who knows. Maybe he decided to ditch us."

* * *

"Now... how do Pokémon Contests work again? Something with appealing with moves first... and then battling. Got the battling down, but got no appeal."

Altaïr was sitting on a rock in the middle of a field as he thought out loud to himself, with his Pokémon patiently waiting for him to give orders out.

"I guess... we just have to practice making our attacks look... pretty... or something."

The teenager looked up into the sky and gave a loud groan in disgruntlement.

"Why did I ever agree to this in the first place? I have a mission of my own here. Ah well, let's give it a try." Altaïr stood up from the rock and looked down at his Pokémon, still sitting silently.

"Alright, I guess for the first appeal, I'll go with you two, Glaceon and Leafeon."

"Glae Glae!" cried the teal fox-like Pokémon in excitement. Leafeon simply stood up from her sitting position and stared at her trainer in acknowledgment.

"Heh, you could show a little more enthusiasm, can't you Leafeon?" Altaïr said amusedly.

"Leafeon," the tan-colored Pokémon stated simply. Her eyes, however, actually showed a great deal of excitement in them.

"Ok, now we got you two for the first appeal, the rest of you go out and spar with each other until I get some moves down with Glaceon and Leafeon."

The four other Pokémon complied by uttering their names once and then heading off as pairs back into the forest.

"Hm, so, ice and grass eh? Let's try..."

* * *

"WHERE ARE THOSE TWO?!" an angry blue-haired girl screamed loudly. Dawn was beginning to get aggressive from her hunger and was unknowingly training her Pokémon extra hard. She checked her Pokétch to see that the time was 11:31. "I could be having lunch right now instead."

"Pip... lup..."

"Neary..."

Dawn's two Pokémon, the first a blue penguin Pokémon called Piplup and the other a brown fluffy bunny Pokémon called Buneary, both gasped for their breath after they had performed their appeal for the thousandth time, or so it seemed to them.

"Hey, we're not quite done yet! The contest is in just two days and we have to get as many appeals as we can to be per-"

"Dawn!"

The coordinator rotated her head to where the voice rang out and she saw Ash and Brock emerge from the trees. She immediately put on a smiling face and recalled her two exhausted Pokémon before running over to the two males.

"Hey guys, how'd you find me here? And what took so long?" added Dawn with a frown.

"Well, we only heard your screaming from like a mile away," Ash said while chuckling. "And getting up here isn't exactly the easiest thing to do. This place is about three miles away from the city, you know that?"

Dawn blushed at her extreme loudness and impatience but quickly hid it from Ash and Brock before they could see while she changed the subject. "So... you bring any food?"

"Yup, but I was thinking since it took us so long to get here and now that it's... 11:33, we could go back into the city and get some lunch. You can munch on some of the stuff we brought as we head back down."

"But I wanted to-... actually, you're right. Piplup and Buneary do seem to be pretty tired. Guess I should drop them off at the Pokémon Center first, and then we can go eat. Oh by the way, have you guys seen Altaïr?" Dawn felt herself feel slightly embarrassed as she said his name, because of the event that took place that morning.

"Oh, hi."

The three instantly turned their heads to the side to see Altaïr standing only a couple of feet away from them. It shocked them how he was able to move so close to them without being heard.

"Did I hear something about lunch?" Altaïr cracked a small grin.

"You bet'cha!" piped Ash. "Race you back to the city!"

"Oh not this again," groaned Brock.

In about three-quarters of an hour, the gang had made it back into Lightcrown City through a lot of running and walking. Dawn had the most trouble out of the four as she had to stop and rest many times before she could continue. After Dawn had dropped her Pokémon at one of the many Pokémon Centers in the city, the foursome set out in search for another place to eat.

"I think... I should pick a spot closer to town next time." Dawn said to Brock as she, Brock, and Altaïr waited for Ash to return from a run around the block where he searched for a good place to eat.

"I'm pretty sure we can find some good spots at the north and south ends of the city. We could check out those places," suggested Brock.

"That'd be great!"

"Hey guys, look!" shouted Ash as he came running down the street. "Buffet!" His eyes gleamed with happiness as he pointed down the street towards at a large building with a sign that said "ALL YOU CAN EAT!" above it.

"I'm down with that," said Altaïr plainly.

The foursome swiftly walked into the buffet and found it bustling with people. They requested a table for four and were led to a booth at one end of the buffet. The waiter then got their order of drinks and the four young people set out into the maze of food stands. Pikachu stayed at the booth where the ketchup bottle was, and hugged it tightly.

"I am STARVING!" said Dawn as she grabbed a plate and began stacking as much food as she could. "Good thing we found this buffet, I probably need to eat as much as Ash could for today, and there's no way we could pay for both of our appetites in a restaurant."

"Exactly why I chose this place, Dawn!" Ash said back joyfully as he too, was stacking his plate with mounds of food.

Within minutes, Ash, Brock, and Dawn returned to their booth to begin chowing down, with Dawn sitting next to Ash. Altaïr was still up and about, taking his time, and returned several minutes later. What his plates held turned the heads of many people as he sat down next to Brock in the booth. He placed two plates on the table, and his three companions looked at them with wide eyes.

"Why do you have...?"

"I like cheese," stated Altaïr, cutting Ash off.

Sitting on his plates were many kinds of food that were made of cheese or somehow had cheese on them. There was macaroni and cheese, cheese pizza, mozzarella sticks, potato skins with cheese, clams with cheese, broccoli with cheese, cheese spinach, and just about anything else that could go with cheese. Altaïr ignored the others' stares as he began to fork through the cheese spinach and happily ate it. As he looked out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the other three were still staring at him, which made him feel somewhat uncomfortable.

"Uh... hi?"

* * *

An hour had passed and the foursome now stood in front of the Pokémon Center where Dawn had dropped off her Pokéballs.

"Be right back guys!" Dawn said as she ran into the Pokémon Center to retrieve her Pokémon from Nurse Joy.

The three young men stood quietly looking at where Dawn had ran through the door. The silence was becoming awkward as the minutes passed, and the young men were becoming anxious to get moving.

"So uh, nice day."

Ash and Brock looked at the speaker with surprise since Altaïr was almost never the one to speak first when there was silence.

"What? Just trying to strike up a conversation..." Altaïr mumbled.

"Oh, sorry Altaïr. So uh, how's the contest training going?" Brock questioned.

"It's fine. Not something I'm used to doing, but I think I'm getting the hang of it. So what've you two been up to?"

"Well me and Ash woke up pretty late today and we had to head out right after breakfast to meet Dawn, who was out training like you. That's all we've done really." Brock put on a sad face as a thought hit him. "And I haven't even had time to meet up with some pretty ladies yet!" Brock let a large stream of tears flow down his face as he tried to maintain his composure.

"Heh, a ladies man I see?"

"Oh you don't know the half of it," Ash answered while snickering.

"Hey, don't get so cocky Ash, or else I might have to let something slip." It was Brock's turn to let out a laugh.

Ash began blushing as he tried to think of a snappy comeback to say to Brock, but his brain failed him.

"Mm, looks like I have some blackmail on you eh Ash? Looks like you really do like Ma-"

"SHUT UP!" Ash shouted, interrupting Brock before he could say what he was going to say. "Dawn's coming back out," he added quietly.

Brock simply smirked while Altaïr stood and stared at the two other males.

"Eh, not gonna bother figuring this one out," he said dismissively.

"All right, I got my Pokémon. Let's get going so I can shop for a dress for the contest!"

The three young men stared at the adolescent blankly.

"C'mon! I need a new dress for this contest. I want to look the best since a ton of people will be watching!"

Brock was the first to make his escape. "I uh, I have to go... on a date! With a woman! Yeah, ok see ya!"

The three others looked at the running man with bewilderment. There was no way Brock had a date with a woman.

Dawn turned back and smiled sweetly at the two remaining boys. "Soo..." she said seductively. "Which one of you two gentlemen want to take me to try out some dresses?" She started walking closer to where they stood while swaying her hips.

"I just remembered, I still have to go register for the contest." With that, Altaïr walked as quickly as he could from the scene without seeming like he was running away.

Dawn momentarily frowned, but then continued to smile as she looked back at Ash.

"Well?"

"I-I, uh, well, uh..." Ash could only give in as he had no excuse to escape from his imminent fate. "Sure."

"Yay! Thank you Ash!" Dawn squealed as she grabbed his arm and began to pull him away. "This will be fun! There's no need to be a Grumpig, Ash," she added with a wink.

Pikachu could only laugh at his trainer's plight, and Ash could only growl at Pikachu under his breath.

"No ketchup for you tonight."

"Pika!" Pikachu yelled as he let a light charge flow into Ash's body. Dawn felt some of the charge too, but it only made her arm a little numb.

"What the, what was that?" she almost screamed as she let go of Ash and shook her arm to get rid of the numbness.

"Uh, beats me." Ash said faking confusion. He turned his head to where Pikachu sat on his shoulder and gave him a soft, "Thanks, it was beginning to feel weird being dragged around by her..."

"Pika pikachu!"

* * *

**Afterthought**

So, Dawn was quite an active girl in this chapter. I hope her personality in this fic isn't too out of the world for anybody. To be honest, in the few episodes of Diamond and Pearl I've seen, she seems a bit… stagnant, so I decided to liven her up a bit. And as I mentioned in a former chapter, hormones + puberty out of character-ness. Oh not to mention hunger can make anybody go cranky.

Character development is also a must-do in my idea of a story, as characters are what make the story, so expect a lot of that (like Altaïr liking cheese, which is once again reflected off me).

Hm, I wonder when May will actually enter the story, eh?

The chapter's title 'Training Wheels' just shows that the characters are training for the contest now. Much more interesting than just 'Training'


	7. Gifts and Curses

**Foreword**

Well, let's see what else happens as this day goes on.

There is a flashback in this chapter.

Also, prepare your… emotions for this chapter, if sad stories and whatnot easily upset you.

* * *

**Chapter 7 - Gifts and Curses**

The day was beginning to get hot as the sun shined brightly overhead in the sky. Altaïr had exited Stacy's after registering for the contest and was now ambling down the sidewalk at a slow pace. As he walked, the sun beat down on his untidy black hair, making his head extremely hot and uncomfortable. After several more minutes of mindless wandering, he approached an ice cream parlor.

Altaïr brought his hand up to his chin, thinking hard for a moment. "I want ice cream," he finally concluded as he made his way to the door.

Entering the parlor, Altaïr saw a long line of customers lined up in front of the counter that sold ice cream. He sighed as he made his way to the back of the line, but as he did so, something caught his eye. Or rather, somebody.

He spotted a familiar looking girl, who wore a red bandanna and had long strands of brown hair at the sides of her head, sitting at a table in the corner with her back turned to everyone else. Altaïr also noticed that the girl seemed to be shaking, so he deliberated whether or not he should approach her to see what the matter was. After much debate, he made up his mind and left his place in line to begin walking up to the shaking girl. As soon as he was a couple feet behind her, he spoke.

"Excuse miss, I uh, couldn't help but notice that you seemed a little... down in the dumps here in this corner." Altaïr said in a soft voice so he wouldn't surprise the young girl.

The brunette stopped shaking at the sound of his deep voice, but didn't turn around. Altaïr heard her take a deep breath and then she spoke.

"You're the first one to care..." the girl said faintly.

Altaïr could tell that her voice slightly cracked, which confirmed his suspicion that she had been crying. He continued conversing with the sad girl.

"Well, since I'm the first to care..." Altaïr paused to summon up the courage he needed to ask what he wanted to ask. "-do you want to confide the reason why you're distressed with me?"

The girl pivoted her head in Altaïr's direction with slight surprise as she considered his unusual proposition. She couldn't get a good view at him without showing her red eyes, however, so she turned her head back towards the wall.

"No, I'm fine. I just need to be alone right now," the girl said as impassively as she could.

"I understand." Altaïr turned around and began to head back to the line to get ice cream, but before he could make it, a voice rang out in his direction.

"Wait! Uh... I think... I could actually um... use somebody to talk to..." the girl blurted out loudly, surprising herself at her own sudden change of heart.

Altaïr turned around and cracked a smile at the girl who was now facing him. When the young girl got a good glimpse at the teenaged boy for the first time, her sapphire eyes that were red from crying widened slightly and her mouth hung somewhat agape. Several people had begun to watch scene as the girl had just nearly yelled across the parlor, and the bandanna-wearing girl began to blush as the people stared at them with interested eyes, making comments about the situation where the girl could hear a word here or there such as "couple" and "cute." This caused the girl to blush even more heavily but Altaïr, however, took no notice of the watchers, and continued to talk to her like nothing was going on.

"Well, we can't have a proper conversation if we don't know each other's names. Name's Altaïr."

"That's a... unique name..." The girl commented.

"Er, thanks... but... I'm interested in your name too." Altaïr gave the girl a warm smile to encourage her.

"Oh, uh, m-m-my name is..."

Altaïr waited patiently.

"May."

There was silence for several seconds, before Altaïr broke it.

"May, that's a pretty name. Nice to you meet you."

"Nice to meet you too... Altaïr..." It could be clearly seen by everyone in the parlor that May's face was crimson.

"How about we talk over some ice cream? My treat."

* * *

_"Why do I feel... different... around this guy?"_

The two teenagers had sat down at the table May had been at and were now enjoying their delicious ice cream treats. Altaïr had got a simple cup of French vanilla and strawberry ice cream while May got a banana split, or rather Altaïr 'accidentally' bought a banana split and insisted that she had it, claiming he was slightly allergic to bananas. They sat across from each other on high table with stool chairs, which on the back of the chair was where Altaïr hung his black fleece jacket and backpack due to the heat of the day. They slowly ate their treats as they waited for the other to speak.

_"I can't really understand what I'm feeling right now... but something tells me that... he's the one I need to talk to..."_

May gazed down at her half eaten banana split and tried to process her thoughts, but she was interrupted when Altaïr spoke to her for the first time after he had bought her the banana split.

"Enjoying it?"

May looked up at the source of the voice and attempted to give him a smile, but failed as she just twitched her mouth in several ways.

"Yeah, thank you for being so generous and buying it for me," she tried to say sweetly, but failed as well, as her voice just sounded like a whisper.

Altaïr just gave her a small smile of his own and nodded, before going back to finishing his own ice cream.

_"Why does he care so much about me anyway? He doesn't know me at all... or does he?"_

She began to ponder that thought and tried to remember if she had ever seen him. She thought about his tall and lean, but strong, body, his unkempt hair, his kind, handsome face...

Altaïr, sitting across the table, had finished his ice cream and was waiting patiently for May to speak first. Eventually, May looked up again and saw the young man staring at her.

_"He's got... nice eyes... but they seem to be black... like his hair... black like Ash's..." _

At the thought of Ash's name she looked away from Altaïr and blushed off to the side. Altaïr raised an eyebrow but he didn't speak or make any motions. He wanted to make sure she was ready.

_"Why does Altaïr want to keep me company?... Most people would be suspicious, but for some reason, I trust him."_

May couldn't hold her thoughts and emotions in any longer.

"Ohh! I feel like my head is about to explode!" she said through closed eyes while rubbing her forehead.

"You can't keep everything you have bottled within you; you have to let it out sometime."

May calmed herself down at his words and thought of what she should say to him for several seconds. Finally, it hit her.

"Altaïr... have you ever..." she tried to find the right words so it wouldn't seem too awkward. "-cared for somebody, like a lot?"

Altaïr looked at the young girl puzzledly at first but caught on to what she was saying.

"...Yes..."

"Then you understand that when you lo-I mean, care for someone a lot, you want them to care for you back... forever... right?"

Altaïr nodded, wondering where she was going with this.

"Well, there was this boy..."

"He did something to you," Altaïr interrupted, but quickly looked away and apologized for his rudeness.

"It's all right, and you're right..." May looked at her banana split sadly, which was now almost gone.

Altaïr remained silent, waiting for her to continue.

"The boy's name... is Drew."

"What did this Drew do to you?"

"I..."

May looked away as she felt tears welling in her eyes, but she held them in. However, she couldn't hide them from Altaïr before he had noticed and he gave her a concerned look as he reached over and gently held her hand.

"You don't have to tell me anything if it hurts too much to talk about," he said softly.

The girl was a bit taken aback by his action, but on the inside, she felt a bit warmer and confident.

"I-I think I'll be ok..." May murmured, still letting him hold onto her hand.

Altaïr nodded and retracted his hand, leaving May slightly disappointed, as she liked the feeling of his warm grasp.

_"He's so... caring... and sweet... like another boy I know..."_

May got her mind back on track as she continued with her tale.

"Well, I... I liked Drew. I liked him a lot. You see, we're both Pokémon coordinators and we're rivals as well. Before I met Drew, I traveled with a group of friends, one of them being my brother. But when I met him... I dunno, I didn't like him much at first, because he was always so harsh when he criticized me, but as time went on, I realized he was always trying to help me, and he told me that the reason why he was always so harsh was because he really cared about me a lot and he wanted me to be best I could."

May looked off to the side and sighed.

"And he really did mean it... I could see it in his eyes when he told me that. So that was when I fell for him, over... another boy... one of the ones I traveled with."

Altaïr only nodded slowly, not wanting to interrupt the girl for a single word.

"I continued traveling around with my group, watching the... other boy... compete in gyms while I competed in contests, where I saw Drew again and again. As time passed, I began to think about him constantly, wanting to see him all the time... and that wish came true when my friend that was the trainer cleared the Battle Frontier. After a non-official contest that he and I competed and tied in, Drew came up to me without the others knowing, and asked me if I wanted to travel with him to Johto to compete in the contests there. I eagerly agreed of course... and immediately told my friends and brother that I would be leaving for Johto, but I left out the part about Drew asking me. And... that's the last I ever saw them, since we all had separate paths to take..."

Altaïr sat quietly and made no sound while May took a small breather.

"So it was just me and Drew in Johto, and we were happy being alone with each other. Over time, we could tell that we liked each other... a lot... so we started... a relationship.

May stopped and blushed at how she was being so open to a total stranger, but his dark captivating eyes captured her, and she moved on.

"We... did things together... and... even kissed several times..." May felt herself getting extremely warm but as she looked up at Altaïr again, she saw his understanding facial expression, which soothed her.

"We were happy together... but one day..." the coordinator began feel the tears coming back as she recalled the past, and this time, she actually grabbed the boy's hand as she let the tears out.

"I-I thought he loved me! H-He even said so himself!" May was now sobbing heavily as she held Altaïr's hand close to her chest. He was startled by her action as his hand was now very close to her breasts, but he made no effort to pull way.

"O-One day, at a c-c-contest... we met a-another... g-girl... a b-beautiful one too..." May paused to control her sobbing so she could speak more clearly.

"At first, I didn't think... much of it. Drew and the... girl hit it off well, like she... and I did too, so I thought he was just being... friendly. But as we went to... more contests, Drew seemed to be drifting away from me... he wouldn't... be as intimate with me as often... and our conversations grew shorter. I also... saw him talking with the other girl a lot when we met up at contests." May let out of heavy sigh as she regained complete control of her breathing.

"I thought they just talked about contest things, since she was a great coordinator and Drew had already talked about contests plenty of times with me, so I let go of my suspicion and acted like nothing was wrong. I was so stupid... so foolish..."

May's eyes began to narrow in anger, surprising Altaïr as he stared into them, but the anger left her eyes almost as soon as it entered, replaced by the sad, defeated look once again.

"I was too naïve... I couldn't see what was going on behind my back until it was too late. If I had found out earlier, it probably won't have hurt as much..."

May finally let go of Altaïr's hand and looked down into her nearly empty bowl, with a look of many emotions on her face.

"I found them together in..."

* * *

May walked down the long hallway quickly as she searched for her boyfriend, Drew, who had told her that he would be gone for only about 10 minutes. The hallway was lined with many doors that lead to the dressing rooms for the coordinators who were participating in the contest. Drew had been gone for over 20 minutes and May was starting to get worried, so she had left her own room to see where he might have gone... or what might have happened to him.

_"It's not like Drew to go against his word... I'm starting to get worried."_

The young girl wandered the halls, peaking into a few open dressing room doors, but didn't find her sweetheart in any of them.

_"Maybe he just got caught up in a conversation with somebody... most likely about contests... most likely with... her."_

May instantly felt a pang of guilt as she thought of her new friend in that manner. _"No, she'll never try anything on Drew... she's too sweet... if he is with her then they're probably just having a friendly conversation." _However, she couldn't help but feel a little anxious at the possibility of the two doing something more, no matter how hard she tried to put that idea out of her head.

The coordinator continued to amble through the hallway until she had finally reached the double door that would take her back to the contest hall lobby. She looked left and right at the two dressing rooms on both sides of her, and noticed that the door on the left was slightly open. She sighed as she considered checking that one last door, but decided against it as she thought Drew was no where in the vicinity, but as May began to walk towards the double door, she heard giggling coming from the open door.

"Oh Drew, you're so bad!" a female voice giggled out.

"I know..." a male voice sneered.

May's eyes widened as she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "It... can't... be..." May managed to stutter.

She stood in front of the door, shocked, for several seconds, before she did the only thing she could think of doing. She pushed the door in with all her might and caused it to slam against the wall. What she saw broke her heart.

Inside the room, Drew was laying on top of the girl on a couch, locking his lips with her as he made out with her noisily and passionately. The sound caused by the slammed door hadn't even affected their activity, and they continued their intense kissing without noticing May. May was so stunned and could only manage to whisper one word. "Drew..."

Despite saying it quietly, Drew somehow heard May say his name and he broke away from the girl and looked up, seeing May standing at the doorway. His jaw dropped since he had just been caught cheating on his girlfriend. "May... I..."

But before he could make any sort of explanation, May sprinted out the doorway and left the contest hall in a matter of seconds, leaving Drew and the terrible crime she had seen him commit behind. As she ran, her brain was flooded with emotions.

_"How could he... why did he..."_

The same questions ran through the innocent girl's mind as she replayed the event she had just witnessed in her head over and over again. When May finally did stop running and regained her psyche, she looked around and saw she had run deep into the forest.

_"I just... want to be lost in here forever..."_

* * *

Two days had passed and May was a total mess as she had remained in the forest ever since she had viewed her boyfriend, or rather ex-boyfriend now, cheating on her with one of her friends. The girl's hair was in disarray, her face dirty, and her clothes soiled. Her only sources of food had been whatever snacks she carried in her yellow fanny pack which was not at able to supplement her fully.

May's eyes were also completely bloodshot from crying, which was what she did the majority of the time. She kept asking herself why Drew did what he did; she thought he loved her, and he had even said so himself a number of times.

_"Is it me? Was I a bad girlfriend... or am I not pretty enough... or did he just get... bored of me?"_ May felt the tears coming back as she thought over the questions she had asked herself a million times.

_"It must be... because she's a better coordinator..."_ she concluded like she did every time she went through the process, and she began to cry quietly to herself again.

Being out alone in the forest two days has done a number of the girl's physical and emotional health, and she was on the verge of insanity and collapsing from exhaustion, whether she knew it or not. The disheveled girl dragged her feet as she walked at a painstakingly slow pace, just wandering with no destination.

_"I just... want to die..."_

At that last thought, she collapsed.

When May woke up, she found herself staring at the ceiling of a building. The sight confused her and she struggled to remember what had happened. Suddenly, all her memories came flooding back to her and she jolted into an upright position and observed her surroundings. She was lying on a small cot in a small room with wooden walls and a door. There was absolutely nothing else in the room except a small gas lamp beside her. May made an attempt to get off the cot but discovered her legs weren't responding so well, and then felt the empty feeling in her stomach.

_"How long has it been since I last ate?"_

May let her head fall back onto her pillow and continued staring at the ceiling. After several minutes, she could feel herself dozing off but before she could she heard the door open. The weary coordinator sat up again and saw a dark figure standing at the door. May felt slightly anxious at the sight of the figure but as soon as it stepped into the light of the lamp, she sighed and felt more relieved. The figure turned out to be an elderly woman carrying a tray with a steaming bowl and cup. As the old lady approached May, she could smell the alluring scent of soup and heard her stomach screaming for food.

"Here child, eat this slowly," the old woman smiled at the young girl and placed the tray on her lap.

May looked at the soup and hesitated for a moment but her stomach was begging for food, so she finally gave in and picked up the spoon. She took a small spoonful of the soup and slurped it, enjoying it immensely. May then began to pick up more spoonfuls of soup and began to devour it at a quicker pace.

"Slow down there child, if you eat too quickly after being starved you can kill yourself!"

That stopped May, and she put down her spoon to let herself digest some of the food. She looked up at the old woman and thought about what she should say to her, finally coming up with two simple words.

"Thank... you..."

The elderly woman simply nodded and smiled and then left the room. May was alone once again and she began to feel cold on the inside. She tried to push the feelings into the back of her mind as she resumed eating her soup, this time more slowly. After finishing the soup, she began to drink the hot tea, which rejuvenated her, as well as made her slightly drowsy. Before she knew it, May was fast asleep once again.

* * *

May awoke to find the room dark. This time, the coordinator remembered where she was and quickly hopped off the cot without any problem. The soup the nice old lady gave her yesterday had successfully returned a portion of May's strength to her. She felt her way to the door and slowly opened it. May peeked into the next room, which appeared to be the living room, dining room, and kitchen of the house, or rather, cabin, as the entire place was made of wood.

"Uh, hello?" May called into the dimly lit room. Nobody replied.

The girl slowly opened the door the rest of the way and entered the main room of the cabin, which was rather small. She began to explore the area until she eyed something lying on the table. It was a note, and it was addressed to May.

"_Dear My Guest, if you are reading this, then I have already gone into town and won't be back until nightfall. Feel free to help yourself to whatever food you need, and to use the phone if you need to call anybody, as you are probably on a Pokémon journey so you probably need to be on your way soon. I was just glad I could help you out before any harm could befall you."_

"I wonder why she didn't write her name…"

May looked around the cabin and spotted a simple non-video telephone in the corner. Since she had left her PokéNav in her dressing room at the contest hall, it was her only form of communication now. She thought about calling somebody but she then realized that she didn't know who to call. Calling her parents would only make them worry about her, and she wasn't ready to return home if they asked her to, especially under the circumstances. She couldn't call her friends, as she had no idea where in the world they were. May was about to give up on calling anybody until one person hit her. She swiftly picked up 

the phone and tried to remember the number of the person. Finally remembering after several moments, she dialed the number and waited.

The voice of a Pokémon answered the phone.

"Mime?" The Pokémon cheerfully said.

"Hey Mimey… this is May. Is… Ash's mom there?" May asked hesitantly.

"Mr. Mime!" May heard the Pokémon calling for Delia, Ash's mom, in Pokémon language and soon, another voice spoke through the phone.

"Hello?" said the voice of a woman this time.

"Hi Mrs. Ketchum… this is May."

"Oh hello May! It's been a long time, how are you?" greeted Delia cheerfully.

"Not… so well," answered May sadly.

"Oh, what's wrong dear?" Delia put on a look of a concern, though May couldn't see it since she wasn't using a video phone.

For some reason, May entrusted Ash's mom with all the events that had happened since she left for Johto. She felt somewhat guilty about telling everything to Delia instead of her own mom, Caroline, but at the moment, she didn't want tell her own mother; it would only cause her to worry and she would most likely tell May's father, Norman, which was the last thing May needed. If Norman knew that May was spending time with a boy, alone, on her Pokémon journey, he would probably have May back at the gym before she could even explain anything else, as well as have a 'friendly' meeting with the lucky boy.

"May, if you ever need a safe place to stay, you know you can always come to my home," Delia told May.

"Thanks Mrs. Ketchum, but I actually think I know what I want to do next now."

"Really? What would that be?"

"I want to meet up and travel with Ash again," May said softly.

"Oh, May, I think that's a great idea! I think Ash would like that _very_ much," Delia exclaimed, with a slight hinting tone in her voice. May missed whatever she hinted however.

"Yeah… but I don't know where Ash is right now…"

"After Ash returned home and battled Gary, he traveled to the Sinnoh region, and currently he's traveling with Brock again, as well as a new girl named Dawn. She's a coordinator like you too."

May felt a pang of jealously upon hearing the fact that another girl was traveling with Ash. She tried to shake it off but only felt more jealous and hurt.

"Oh… a new girl? What's she like?" the coordinator asked sheepishly.

"I don't really know May, I've only seen her over the video phone a couple of times when Ash makes his weekly calls, but she seems like a nice girl."

"_I wonder… if Ash still cares about me…" _May felt a small tear form at the ends of her eyes but she fought to hold them back.

"_No, no more crying. I will be strong now. I want… to be with Ash again… and I will."_

All of a sudden, May felt a new spirit within her that was determined to embark on this journey. She didn't know where it came from, or why she was feeling that way, but she was bent on finding Ash at that moment, no matter what it took.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a voice coming from the phone she still held to her ear.

"The last time I heard from Ash, which was actually last night, he said he was on the road a city called… Lightcrown I think? You may want to start your search for him there."

May felt herself light up at the new information. "Really? Then I think that's where I will head to… right now! Thanks for being here to talk with me."

"It's no problem May. Feel free to call again if you need someone to talk to or if you need an update on where Ash may be."

"Thanks again, Mrs. Ketchum, but if Ash calls, could you keep the story of me searching for him a secret? I want it to be a surprise when I finally catch up to him."

"Sure thing May, you go on now!"

"All right, bye!" and with that, May hung up the phone and ran back into the small bedroom to collect her belongings. But as she began to open the front door, she realized she still had no idea where she was. May sighed and plopped herself down on a couch to wait for the old woman to return. She checked the clock which read 5:57, so she said to herself that it wouldn't be long until the old woman returned.

* * *

**Afterthought**

Well, I cut you all off in the middle of a flashback, but ah well. This chapter was getting kind of long for me so I decided to split it up back when I was writing this.

Anybody Contestshippers who are reading this (though I don't know why you would) or anybody who just likes Drew as a character may not like the way he is portrayed in this fic, but hey, deal with it.

But really, I do find Contestshipping a pretty believable ship for the anime to come up with, though of course it's not preferable to me. So I decided to wiggle in Contestshipping because of it's realism only to destroy it. Aren't I evil. :)

But hm, what's with Altaïr's sudden personality change? Why does May warm up to him so quickly? Well, that's up for all of you to decide, for now.

The chapter title 'Gifts and Curses' is the name of a song by Yellowcard, which was also in a Spiderman movie (forgot if it was 1 or 2). I'm not really sure why I named this chapter this, but I just felt that some characters have 'gifts' while others have 'curses' (but I don't mean that they only have a gift or a curse).


	8. Detour

**Foreword**

Continues directly off the flashback from the last chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 8 - Detour**

A few hours had passed when the elderly woman finally returned from her trip into town. She carried several bags in her arms and set them down in the kitchen before realizing that several cabinets and drawers were open. She glanced around the room and spotted the young coordinator dozing on the couch, with a plate containing half a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in front of her on the low coffee table. The woman smiled at how peaceful the girl looked as opposed to how she was just that morning, and began putting her groceries away.

May snored lightly as she slumbered on but when the old woman accidentally dropped a spoon while she was preparing more soup for her, May stirred and opened her eyes.

"Wha-What time is it?" the tired girl mumbled.

"Oh hello dear, I'm sorry to wake you. And it's 9:12 pm right now."

May bolted up from the couch when she heard that.

"What? It's been more than three hours since I last checked!" she ran into the room with the cot and frantically began looking for her belongings, then ran back out into the main quarters.

"Hold on there, what's the big rush?" the old woman looked curiously at the seemingly deranged girl.

"I have to get to the Sinnoh region right now! I can't explain everything now but I just need to find someone there."

The brunette began to run to the door until she remembered the reason why she had not left for Sinnoh earlier that day. She blushed and turned back towards the old woman.

"Um, well, that is, if I knew how to get there…" May said sheepishly.

The elderly woman smiled at May and walked to where she stood by the couch.

"Well, we're currently in the woods east of Olivine City, which happens to be a port city. You can go there and catch a boat to Sinnoh, but not today, since you'll never make it in time for the final 9:30 boat. I think you should just spend one more night here before you continue your journey."

May opened her mouth to make a retort, but she then realized that the woman was most likely correct. She also knew that it would be very difficult for her to make her way through the woods in the dark. The defeated girl closed her mouth and resigned to sitting back down on the couch.

"But why did you want to get to Sinnoh so quickly?" the old woman questioned on.

"It's…" May debated whether or not she should lie or tell her the truth, but then she figured that it wouldn't cause any harm to tell the truth. "It's about a boy…"

The old woman's eyes seemed to flash when she heard that. Then she smiled and sat down next to the young girl.

"The first boat that goes to the Sinnoh region departs at 8 am tomorrow morning, so you will probably need to wake up at 7:30 to catch it." The woman then put a small hand on May's shoulder. "You should do all you can to find the one you love," she said compassionately.

The coordinator looked at the old woman with bewilderment. _"Do I really… love him?"_

"Anyway, you should probably get some rest right now. If you need to wash up, the bathroom is the door on the other side of the cabin."

"Thank you Miss… actually, I don't think I know your name."

"Just call me Kat, that's what everybody calls me."

"Ok, thank you for all your hospitality Kat. I wish I could stay longer but…"

Kat interrupted May with a smile. "I understand. I would do the same in your position."

* * *

"And so I left early the next morning, making it to the port in time to catch a boat to Canalave City. From there, I traveled to Lightcrown, looking for Ash."

Altaïr, who had been listening silently to the girl's tale, nodded slowly as he contemplated on what he should say to May under the current circumstances.

"I got here yesterday but I've had no luck in finding him yet. I've asked a couple Pokémon Centers if he's checked any Pokémon into them, but they all don't have any records of him."

"Have you tried the Pokémon Center in the very center of Lightcrown yet?"

May looked at Altaïr strangely for a moment, before replying, "No... I haven't had a chance to go that far into the city yet. Why did you ask that?" She looked at the tall teenager suspiciously.

"_Well, here goes nothing."_

"I've been traveling with Ash for a couple days now, as well as Brock and Dawn." Altaïr was somewhat afraid of how she would react next.

The brunette that sat in front of him seemed to go into a momentary state of shock when she heard this. Altaïr gave a sigh of relief and figured he might as well go on.

"So uh, yeah they stayed in the Pokémon Center I mentioned while I slept outside of the city last night. We'll be here for a couple of days since Dawn entered the local contest that some department store is hosting. And… I sorta got dragged into doing the contest too."

May shook herself out of the shock and prepared herself to become flooded with emotions for the boy she supposedly loved, but they were absent. For some reason, the news that Ash was in Lightcrown City didn't delight her as much as she had thought.

"_Ash is here… he's really here… and I've found someone who knows where he is… but why don't I feel the way I should feel?" _May looked down at the table as she sorted through her thoughts and feelings.

Seeing how May didn't seem like she was going to speak, Altaïr continued on.

"When I last saw them… uh… oh yeah, Dawn had dragged Ash with her to go dress shopping for the contest. I guess we were gonna meet up outside the city to continue training… not sure where though."

May stared into space as she tried to understand what was going on at the moment. She then looked at Altaïr and felt her face become warm. Altaïr didn't notice however as he got up from his stool and put on his jacket and backpack.

"If we go back to the Pokémon Center, we may run into them. You want to see them again right?"

May's face returned to its normal color as she was brought back to reality.

"Huh? What was that?" the coordinator said confusedly.

"I said, if we head back to the Pokémon Center, we might run into them." Altaïr raised an eyebrow at the spaced out girl.

"_If I go with him… I'll see Ash again... but why do I not feel the urge to find him all of a sudden?" _May then remembered what Altaïr had said earlier concerning Ash. _"He's with Dawn right now… maybe, maybe Ash doesn't feel the same way I feel about him. After all, he did go shopping with her…"_

As May stood before the tall boy, she began to glance at his physical features. Altaïr, who had turned around and began walking towards the entrance of the ice cream parlor, was oblivious to her observing of him. The young girl stared at the older boy as he walked away from her and felt a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. When she realized what she was doing, she blushed to herself.

"_Have I… no, I couldn't have. I just met him. He's just kind of... cute, if not on the handsome side, that's all." _But May's actions were telling otherwise. _"Maybe… I could just spend some more time to get to know Altaïr, before I find Ash and Brock… and Dawn."_

Altaïr had already made it to the door of the parlor while May still stood by the table they had been seated at. Noticing that she was still not with him, he turned around and looked dumbly at the girl.

"Um, are you coming?"

May finally noticed that he had made it all the way to the door without her and she put on an embarrassed look as she trotted up to join him. When the two walked outside into the hot day, May decided she would try her plan.

"Hey, Altaïr?" May said innocently.

"Yup?" Altaïr replied with his usual impassiveness, while looking at the road ahead.

"Um…" May hesitated for a second. "I've been thinking… or rather wondering…" She stopped again to think of the right words to say, but decided that it was better that she just be blunt about it. "Do you know if Ash has the same feelings for me as I do for him?"

Altaïr didn't turn his head towards the coordinator, but she could tell that his facial expression had change, though she couldn't read it.

"No."

May waited for him to say more but he seemed to have no intention to. Slightly annoyed as the boy that seemed so caring minutes ago was now like a rock to her, she continued talking.

"Do you think… you could… ask him about it?" May cringed slightly as she awaited his reply.

Altaïr remained silent a while longer as the two walked down the busy city street, but after a minute, he gave her his answer.

"I will."

At first May thought she had misheard Altaïr, but when she looked up at his face, he was looking down at her with a wry smile. She gathered the courage to speak once again.

"R-Really? You'd do that for me?" she said somewhat bewildered.

"Yup."

May then decided to ask the question that had been in her mind the entire time since she had met him.

"But… why? Why are you doing this all this? Why do you care… about me so much?"

Altaïr halted without warning, causing May to take a couple steps ahead of him before she noticed and turned around.

"It's not that I care for you so much…" May felt a small stab to her heart as he said this, but Altaïr wasn't done. "It's because I… I can't explain it, but I just feel like I need to help… to aid people in need... to bring happiness…"

The pain that May felt in her chest dissolved instantaneously as she caught a glimpse of something in the boy's right eye, but it disappeared as soon as it came. Altaïr shook his head slightly and he began to walk down the sidewalk again, with May following by his side.

"_He wants to bring happiness? What does that mean?" _May peered out of the corner of her eye at the teenaged boy, and felt the same feeling in her stomach as she did back in the parlor. _"I wonder…"_

"So where will we meet tomorrow once I get Ash's… testimony?" Altaïr asked.

May saw this question as the perfect opportunity to try something out. "How about we meet at a restaurant and you'll tell me what he said… over some dinner?" May smiled sweetly.

"Ok, I guess that'll work. Got any idea which restaurant?"

"Oh, I passed a really nice looking restaurant when I was exploring the city. It was called the Spotlight Café, and it was somewhere on the east side of the city." May tried to make her invitation sound as casual as she could.

And it worked, as Altaïr didn't seem to think twice about it. "Alright, we'll meet there tomorrow. Time?"

"How does 6:00 sound?" May said while trying to stifle the giggles that were trying to force their way out of her mouth.

"Sounds good, see you then I guess." With that, Altaïr turned away from her at an intersection and began walking north.

With Altaïr gone, May finally let out the giggles that she had been holding in.

"_Hehe, this is almost like a date! This is gonna be a lot of." S_uddenly, a realization finally hit her. She stopped giggling and put on a dismayed expression.

"_Oh no… I think I…"_

* * *

Altaïr ambled down the street silently as he thought to himself.

"_This is all getting too complicated. I can't… I can't let this distract me from my mission."_

As he walked absentmindedly, Altaïr wasn't paying attention to his surroundings and began to wander off the main street. He stared at the ground with his hands in his jacket pockets as he trekked north towards the edge of Lightcrown City. Before he knew it, he had wandered into a run-down section of the city.

Altaïr looked up and saw the decrepit buildings around him. Many of the buildings were abandoned and had their windows and doors boarded up. The streets were littered with trash and glass, like there had been a riot in that part of the city. The air smelled of gasoline and rot, and the air seemed cooler, giving the place a ghostly feel. Altaïr took one last look around before he decided he should keep moving, and perhaps get out of the area, until he heard a scream.

He quickly spun toward the direction of the high-pitched scream and ran. As he ran further, he could hear the laughs of several men in an alleyway. Preparing himself for what he may encounter, he turned into the alleyway but stopped short of where the men stood.

There were five men that formed a semi-circle around something at the dead end of the alley. At first Altaïr couldn't make out what or who it was, but when one of the cackling men shifted his position to the left, he could see a white beanie cap on the ground. Upon closer inspection, he could see whose head the beanie cap sat on.

"Damn," he mumbled to himself. "Why do I always have to play hero."

* * *

**Afterthought**

Uh oh, I wonder who's in trouble. What will Altaïr do next chapter to be the 'hero?' Hm…

Well, you could just go look at the next chapter to see what action is about to follow up P.

And what might May be planning?

(Yeah I know I asked like three rhetorical questions in here)

The chapter title 'Detour' is just saying how the characters are all taking some sort of detour, if you know what I mean.


	9. Cerberus

**Foreword**

Now, let's see what Altaïr is going to do next…

Some more emotions gone wild, as you'll see from a little _surprise._

* * *

**Chapter 9 – Cerberus**

"'Ey girl, we don't wanna 'urt you, we just wanna 'ave some _fun_, so why don'tcha just quit strugglin'," said a large burly man with a sinister grin.

Dawn whimpered as she lay frightened on her side on the ground. Her clothes were soiled from being thrown around by the thugs and she had several scrapes and bruises on her face and limbs, if not on the rest of her body as well.

"L-L-Leave me alone! I have Pokémon that can take care of you guys!" Dawn threatened with the last bit of courage she had as she attempted to stand up, but failing.

The five men guffawed loudly again and each pulled out a Pokéball.

"'Ets see 'ow your Pok'mon stand up to us fives'," laughed the burly man.

The five thugs released their Pokémon, revealing a purple slime Pokémon, a black dog Pokémon with a red underbelly and snout, a purple ghost Pokémon with eyes the shape of diamonds, a black crow-like Pokémon with red eyes, and finally, a menacing looking Pokémon that resembled a blue lion with long black fur that covered most of his body, with a four-pointed star on his tail.

"Let's see you try and fight us off," sneered another man, who was skinny in comparison with the other man and wore a black doo-rag on his head.

The Pokémon began to approach the terrified coordinator when a voice spoke out.

"Oh yes, that really shows how strong you guys really are, quintuple-teaming a girl," said a deep voice from behind the five thugs with a slight mocking tone.

The thugs whirled around to see Altaïr standing at the end of the alley, with a deadly look on his face. Dawn gasped and gave both a look of shock and glee as her savior had just arrived.

"You know who you's dealing with here?" sneered a shirtless man covered from waist to neck with tattoos.

"Mm, nope." The teenaged boy's satirical answer made the tattooed man steam.

"You lil' bastard! You's dealing with members of the King's Men! The biggest and mos' powerful gang here in Lightcrown!" the man spat.

Altaïr's eyes widened slightly when he heard this, but not in surprise. He contemplated on what he should do next until the tattooed thug ordered his Pokémon to attack.

"Luxray! Give 'em a Spark!"

Luxray gave a mighty roar and began to charge Altaïr at full speed, but Altaïr was ready. He quickly jumped back to create some more space between him and the charging Pokémon while he hit the button of his teal Pokéball, releasing his own Pokémon.

Glaceon materialized out of the white light and immediately sprung into action, effectively countering the attack by ducking down and head butting Luxray from his underbelly as he began to pass over Glaceon. The electricity around Luxray dissipated when the Glaceon's attack connected.

The Gleam-Eyes Pokémon gave a cry of pain as he somersaulted in the air once before landing on his side.

"Luxray, don't let that punk show you up! Thunder Fang!"

The Pokémon stood up and electricity began to gather at Luxray's fangs as he built up power for the attack. But before he could take one step, Glaceon had aimed his cap endings at Luxray's direction and he fired two large Ice Beams from each ending. In a split second, everything in the alley, except Dawn, was frozen solid.

Dawn, hearing the battle around her go quiet, uncovered her eyes with her dirty hands and saw a tall figure stand over her with an arm outstretched. She smiled and grabbed it, pulling herself up from the ground. Dawn stared into the trainer's eyes passionately while still holding the hand she had used to pull herself up. Altaïr broke her gaze and examined the wounds on her body. Without saying a word, he let go of her hand and motioned for her to follow him.

* * *

Altaïr led Dawn to a fountain at the center of a city square and began rummaging through his backpack. He soon brought out a first-aid kit and a small piece of clothe, and dampened it in the fountain. Still without saying a single word, he brought the clothe up to where there were scrapes on the girls knees and he began to clean them off. The young coordinator expected to feel stinging at the place where the clothe made contact with her scrapes, but surprisingly, there was none. She could only feel the soft clothe rubbing against her wounds. After he had finished on her knees, Altaïr worked his way up and eventually reached her face. Still being delicate, he stroked the piece of clothe against the cut on her forehead and washed the blood off in the fountain. Finished with the cleaning, he opened the first-aid kit and pulled out some bandages and band-aids as well as a small unlabeled bottle.

"This may burn a little," Altaïr saying his first words to Dawn since they last saw each other.

The coordinator nodded and braced herself for the pain that was imminent.

Altaïr opened the unlabeled bottle and stuck his pinky finger inside, taking out a small amount of what looked to be green-colored goo. He slowly went down to Dawn's knees, being careful not to look up in case she suspected him of foul play, and rubbed the green goo on her wounds.

Dawn took a sharp intake of breathe as she felt a burning sensation stronger than she had anticipated at the spot where Altaïr applied the goo.

"Relax, it may burn more than other remedies, like alcohol, but it'll help you out in no time. This medication was created by Leafeon for minor cuts and scrapes and it speeds up your healing in a way where there's also no scarring. Everything should heal in a day, in time for the contest, so you don't have to worry about showing up with a bunch of bandages all over you."

Dawn let the air she was holding in while he was applying the medication out so she could relax like he had told her to.

"_He's so thoughtful, thinking about how I would look at the contest with all these wounds… I guess I have to thank Leafeon sometime as well for this wonderful medicine."_

Altaïr had applied Leafeon's medicine to where there were wounds on Dawn's legs and he began to bandage them up tightly, but not to the point where blood flow would stop. When he finished, he began to work up and once again, and eventually got to her face again as well. The cut on her forehead wasn't very deep, but it would still leave a mark for a week or two without the medication, so he reached for the bottle and fingered out some more of the green goo. Dawn, knowing that the burning sensation would now be in her head, braced herself more readily, but not before getting a mischievous idea in her head. As Altaïr leaned in to get a better view of her forehead, Dawn leaned in as well and her lips made contact with Altaïr's. Before Altaïr could react in any other way besides widening his eyes, the blue-haired girl had already pulled away, and looked at him as nothing had happen, besides blushing. Altaïr, who usually always had a cool composure and never showed any sign of embarrassment to the group before, tinted a very slight red, before shaking his head vigorously and returning to his first-aid work.

"_Tee hee, he's such a guy."_

* * *

"I wonder where Dawn and Altaïr are," pondered Ash aloud. He was standing beside Brock in an open field with tall hedgerows around it, as was the same with the rest of the area to the north of Lightcrown. Pikachu sat on his usual roost of Ash's shoulder.

"Maybe they just can't find us with all these tall hedges around. There are quite a lot of these things around here. Guess that's why this place was a recommended training spot since the hedges provide privacy," rationalized Brock. A thought suddenly hit him and he turned towards the trainer next to him with eyebrows raised.

"Wasn't Dawn with you?"

"Oh, yeah, after we went shopping, Dawn said she wanted to explore more of the city, but I said I had to… run some errands, so we split." Ash gave Brock a sheepish look.

"More like, you _ditched _Dawn, eh Ash?" Brock nudged the trainer playfully. "What's wrong Ash, I think she has a little crush on you."

"Well, maybe I don't want her to!" Ash said rather loudly, turning heads of a couple of passersby. They looked at him weirdly and walked on as Ash blushed and pulled Brock to a more secluded area.

"What's holding you back then?" Brock questioned, knowing full well what the answer was even if Ash didn't tell him.

The flustered trainer began sputtering unintelligible words while Brock smirked. Pikachu merely chortled at his trainer's plight.

Before Ash could make a bigger fool of himself or spill anything that Brock didn't already know, a voice shouted out at them.

"Ash! Brock!"

The two males and Pokémon spun around and saw Dawn, who was now bandaged in many places, walking with Altaïr on the path that led to their hedgerowed sector.

Ash, Brock, and Pikachu saw the bandages and band-aids and swiftly ran up to the new arrivals. Questions began to pour out of their mouths.

"What happened to you?"

"Are you hurt bad?"

"Pika, pikachu?"

"Where did you find her, Altaïr?"

"Do you need something to eat or anything?"

Dawn held up her hands to silence the interrogators.

"How about we sit down first? I'm a bit tired now." suggested Dawn with a smile.

Everyone agreed and they all took a seat at the portable table Brock had set up. Starting from where she and Ash split up, she told her story. After Ash had left, she carried her shopping bag with her dress back to the Pokémon Center and set out to explore the city some more. After exploring more shopping districts in the city, Dawn checked her Pokétch and saw the time was around 4:30, so she decided to call Brock with her PokéNav that she, Ash, and Brock had picked up on their adventures in the Sinnoh region, in case they lost touch with each other. Brock told her to meet him in the fields to the north of Lightcrown, so she quickly made her way up. However, being the poor navigator that she was, she accidentally stumbled into the abandoned sector of the city and was soon confronted by the five thugs Altaïr took care of. They asked her if she'd like to come to their club and she immediately ran. The five thugs chased her and cornered her in the alley and physically tormented her. However, after several minutes of the pushing and hitting, Altaïr showed up and rescued her. Dawn then told Ash and Brock about how he took her to the fountain and tended to her wounds, but left out the part where she kissed him.

"So after he finished, we quickly made our way here, avoiding that terrible part of the city of course."

Ash and Brock sat stunned as the coordinator concluded her tale. Altaïr however, stared directly at Ash, and clenched his fists.

"So you abandoned her?" he asked Ash calmly.

"What?" Ash looked at the glowering teenager confusedly.

"You left her alone in a big city to go do some… _errands?_" Altaïr said with more intensity while spat out the last word with force.

"Whoa wait, I didn't-."

"Do you _know _what kind of people live in a big metropolis like this?" Altaïr began to raise his voice.

This began to unnerve the four other occupants, as they had never heard Altaïr raise his voice in anger before in the short amount of time they had known him, even during the times when Ash picked arguments with him.

"But-."

"Save it, just be more careful next time." Altaïr seemed to calm down right after he said that, and he seemed to be his normal, quiet self again.

Ash however, looked down at the table dejectedly. _"He's right, just because I wanted to create some space between me and Dawn, doesn't mean I can just abandon her like this, especially when there's so many unknown things in the city." _Pikachu looked at his trainer sadly with drooped ears, as he knew how Ash must have felt after Altaïr's revelation.

Dawn looked at Altaïr, who was on her right, then at Ash, who was on her left, then back to Altaïr.

"_Altaïr… he's actually angry at Ash for leaving me… does that mean he...?" _Dawn was unable to finish her unspoken sentence as Brock decided it was time to break the tension.

"So…" Brock said rather loudly to get everyone's attention. "-how about we have a small snack and you two get to some more contest training?"

The coordinator studied Altaïr and Ash one more time before letting the topic in her head go.

"Sure, that sounds great!" Dawn cheerfully agreed.

Altaïr however, got up from his seat and began to walk toward the entrance to the practice area through the hedgerows.

"Uh, where are you going?" Brock asked skeptically.

"To train… alone. Why do you think I camped out alone last night?" Altaïr said while still walking away.

The others looked at him with questioning eyes. Altaïr sensed that they couldn't think of the answer by themselves so he shrugged and turned around. He looked directly at Dawn as he stopped walking.

"Can't let you know all of my contest strategies, can I Dawn? Who knows, we may go up against each other during the contest."

The last statement struck Dawn particularly hard as her mouth fell slightly agape. She had thought that of the probability of having to face Altaïr in a battle several times before, but hearing that come out of his mouth seemed to subdue her spirit momentarily. She knew that no matter what kind of battle, normal or contest, she could not defeat someone like Altaïr.

Altaïr turned back towards the direction he was walking in and exited the scene. Dawn shivered slightly as she replayed his words in her mind.

"_But why am I afraid of a sudden?" _she asked herself. _"The reason why I asked him to enter the contest is so there would be a better chance to win the prize… but now I'm afraid of facing him and losing, even though he could probably make it all the rest of the way and win…"_

The anxious coordinator looked over the table at Ash, who was now enjoying some rice balls Brock pulled out of his bag.

"_Maybe I just don't want to seem… weak… to either of them."_

* * *

The idea of facing Altaïr in battle disturbed Dawn, but it did not take her focus off her training. If she was to stand a chance at the possibility she would face him, she would have to rely on her contest battling skills rather than the skills used in traditional battling. And if they both made it to the finals, which Altaïr most likely would in her mind, they would have to face off anyway.

"_It's funny… how I'm not really believing that I can make it all the way to the finals… after making a big scene about the contest and prizes that day… Have I lost my confidence, because of a battle that I wasn't even in?"_

Ash, though not an experienced coordinator, offered to help Dawn and give her suggestions, as he had watched and mentored a certain someone in the past who had been quite successful in her own coordinating career. But his shouts of encouragement and suggestions were drowned out by Dawn's own thoughts once again.

"_I need to believe in myself more… that I can make it to the finals… that I will eventually have to face Altaïr, and that I will somehow prevail against him." _She paused her thoughts to give her Pokémon another order. "_If I told Ash how I was feeling right now, he would say the exact same thing to me."_

Being as dense as he can be sometimes, Ash did not notice how Dawn didn't seem to be hearing him at all, so he kept shouting from the sidelines as Dawn performed her appeals over and over again. Pikachu however, noticed that Dawn was completely oblivious to the outside world and completely absorbed in her training. The Pokémon sighed as he listened to his trainer yell more unheard words at the coordinator.

"Yeah! That was a great move, Dawn! You're sure to impress the judges with that." Ash said with encouragement.

But under the cheerful exterior, Ash still felt guilty about leaving Dawn alone in the city and he constantly degraded himself in his mind for doing that. Being Ash's first and closest Pokémon, Pikachu could feel his feelings of depression and self-anger as well.

After a long training session, Dawn's Pokétch showed that the time was 7:28, so she decided it was time for her and her Pokémon to take a break and have dinner. Brock, who was on top of things, had already begun to prepare dinner, which would consist of foot-long sub sandwiches.

"Just tell me what you guys want on it, and you'll have it!" Brock said jovially.

"Mm, whatever Ash is having I'll have." Dawn was still focused on her training and thinking of ways to improve her appeals even when training was done for the time being.

"Eh, just make me anything," Ash said dejectedly, as he still felt guilty about the events that occurred earlier that day.

Brock just looked at his two younger companions strangely and wondered what their deal was, as it was always strange for Ash to be indifferent about food and Dawn seemed to be completely out of it.

Dinner was eaten in silence, and Dawn was back to training soon after. Altaïr had not joined them for dinner, which was not all that surprising due to his slight animosity to stay with the group ever since the first night in Lightcrown.

As the sun set and things began to turn dark, the threesome decided it was time to head back to the Pokémon Center. Dawn had practice battles with Ash that evening, and now the trainers and their Pokémon were all quite exhausted. Making their way back to the Pokémon Center located in the center of Lightcrown, they chatted about the events that day and Ash apologized over and over for his screw up to Dawn.

"Oh, hehe, it's all right Ash, at least _Altaïr _was there to save me," Dawn said with an emphasis on Altaïr's name.

Her attempt to play at Ash failed as he merely grunted and apologized again, and said how he should have still been there for her. Dawn sighed and decided she wasn't going to get Ash to say or do anything interesting tonight.

They returned to their rooms in the hotel-like Pokémon Center and crashed on their bunks. Dawn quickly took the bathroom first and prepared for a good nights sleep after waking up early in the morning. Ash and Brock decided they would take their showers in the morning, as Dawn would most likely take a good amount of time in the bathroom, so they dozed off to sleep first. Pikachu once again claimed the empty bunk above Dawn's bed and got cozy with the sheets there. It was to be a peaceful night, for them at least.

* * *

**Afterthought**

So… Altaïr saves Dawn, Dawn kisses Altaïr. Doesn't sound like a bad tradeoff to any of us, no?

Well, then Altaïr proceeds to make Ash feel crummy… P

For those of you who go on SPPf, you may have heard of a little something called 'Birdyshipping' which is pretty much exclusive to this fic because of my original character. Well, for those of you who don't know, the story is that my readers there liked the things I did with Altaïr and Dawn, and one of my readers (Lord Zant, has an account too) christened the ship of those two as Birdyshipping, because Dawn has a Piplup and my alias is CICHawk (not to mention Altaïr means 'the flyer' in Greek, too).

Now whether or not I will turn that to actual ship is known by me only, and I won't say anything about it. ;-)

The chapter title 'Cerberus' is named after the dog that guards the gates to hell, and Altaïr pretty much guarded Dawn _from _hell. A little bit of a paradox there.


	10. Questions

**Foreword**

Now we get into a bit of what Altaïr does when the others aren't around.

And a couple new discoveries are made by our characters.

* * *

**Chapter 10 - Questions**

"_Well, this has been an interesting night so far."_

The dark figure of Altaïr ambled through the brightly lit streets of Downtown Lightcrown. It was very early in the morning, earlier than anyone would wake up to go to work for, but there were still people on the streets that were enjoying the nightlife. The young trainer made sure to avoid any police officers in case they suspected that he was a minor out on the streets past the curfew that was set for his age group. Reaching his next destination, Altaïr straightened out his fleece jacket and put on a black beanie with the letters "PDI" on the front before walking into the bar that stood before him.

"_Looks like I won't be getting any sleep for a while."_

* * *

Dawn woke up early once again to get a head start on training, but this time Ash had set up his own alarm to make sure he woke up when she did. He didn't want anything to happen to her today, especially since it was the day before the big contest. His alarm would be Pikachu, as Ash promised him a large quantity of ketchup if he did the job. Pikachu did, and so Ash woke up with a jolt that morning

"Gee, thanks Pikachu, but you didn't have to shock me so hard." Ash rubbed his head and could smell that his clothes were burnt. He walked up to the bathroom door and knocked it.

"I could use that bathroom sometime in the next century Dawn," the trainer said with slightly annoyed tone.

"I'll be right out!" called the Dawn's voice from within.

"Yeah, that's what you said ten minutes ago." Ash gave up on waiting by the door and just sat on his bed instead. Brock was still snoring loudly on the top bunk as he had no intention on waking up as early as the other two. Pikachu had decided to catch up on what little sleep he had gotten that night after being recruited as Ash's alarm clock. Ash sighed and lay on the bed, replaying Altaïr's words from the day before in his head.

"_I really do need to be more responsible for the people that I promise to mentor and keep safe. Dawn's mother trusted me to make sure nothing bad happens to her… but I've failed and let her get hurt by a bunch of thugs." _

At the thought of Dawn's mother entrusting him with taking care of her daughter, his thoughts wandered to another mother, and father, who also trusted him to take care of their daughter, who was not with him today.

"_May…"_

Saying the coordinator's name in his head sent a wave of feelings that Ash couldn't comprehend. His stomach had a tingly feeling to it and his chest felt heavy. Emotions ran through his mind but he couldn't understand what kind of feelings they were.

"_What is this? Why do I feel this way whenever I think of May, or even just say her name?_

The trainer then thought of the conversation between him and Brock the day before. Brock had mentioned that Dawn may have a crush on him, but Ash didn't really believe the breeder's words. However, this morning, Ash began to recall the events that have happened these past few days, and indeed Dawn had been acting a bit more strangely than usual. Sure she always seemed to be hovering around him quite often, even before they met Altaïr, but after the new trainer's arrival, she had been even weirder than normal.

"_Could she really…?" _Ash pulled his hair and gave a moan as the complicated subject was too much for him. _"But then… what's holding me back, like Brock said?"_

Ash then remembered the conversation he had two days ago with Brock, about May. He remembered having the same feeling as he did now when he began to mention her, but he did a pretty good job of covering his feelings until the very end, when he began to blush.

However, his thinking was interrupted as Dawn came out of the bathroom, dressed and ready for training. Ash stood up from the bed and made his way through the bathroom door, ready to take off the burning odor that was clinging to him

"_A... A shower is what I need."_

* * *

Half an hour later, Ash, Dawn, and Pikachu were once again ready to hit the road to the training fields to the north of Lightcrown City. Dawn was pumped for another hard day of training as she needed as much as she could get to make up for lost time. Ash and Pikachu were just tired. As they were about to exit the Pokémon Center, the automatic doors in front of them slid open, letting the trainer known as Altaïr in.

"Oh, g'mornin'," the tall trainer greeted.

"Morning, where have you been?" Ash asked with a hint of suspicion.

"Just out and about." Altaïr walked into the Pokémon Center at that. It was then that Dawn finally noticed something different about him.

"Hey, Altaïr, nice hat! Where'd you get it from?" Dawn sent a friendly smile in the teenaged boy's direction but he made no effort to turn around and receive it.

"Oh this? I've had it for a while now. Anyway, I'm tired, mind if I crash in your room?" Altaïr said while still walking away.

"Er, sure. It's room 17." Ash responded.

With that, Altaïr gave a lazy wave and turned the corner towards the dormitories.

"That was… kinda weird." Dawn grumbled, as she was somewhat disappointed Altaïr didn't bother to look at her.

Ash merely shrugged. "Yeah, wonder what's got him so tired."

"Pika…"

* * *

This morning, Dawn decided that she would focus on contest battling, as her appeals were down pretty solid, so Ash agreed to help out with his own Pokémon.

"Alright, let's not get too worked up, after all, your Pokémon will need their strength for tomorrow," Ash shouted across the field.

"Right, let's go!" Dawn grabbed a Pokéball and threw it into the center of the field. "Piplup! I choose you!"

"Aipom! Go!"

The two Pokéballs opened with a flash of light as out of Dawn's Pokéball appeared her blue penguin Pokémon, Piplup. Out of Ash's Pokéball, a purple monkey Pokémon with a toothy grin and large round eyes materialized, ready for battle. The most noticeable trait on the monkey Pokémon was her tail; it had a three fingered hand-like appendage on the end, which was the source of many of the Pokémon's attacks.

"Ai-Ai!" cried Aipom.

"Alright Aipom, let's start this battle off with a Swift attack! And give it some flair!"

Aipom, who enjoyed contest battles very much and had been in several contests before, had no problem pulling off a stylish Swift attack from her tail that spiraled towards Dawn's Piplup on the other end of the field.

"Piplup, counter with Bubblebeam, and follow up with Peck attack!"

Hearing the command, Piplup let loose a wave of sparkling bubbles from his beak that charged into the incoming stars. The two attacks collided and nullified one another, giving Piplup the time to charge in through the smoke for a Peck attack.

"Watch out Aipom, dodge it by using your tail!"

Aipom immediately comprehended the order and launched herself into the air by using her tail as a spring. Piplup halted his attack as he watched the Long Tail Pokémon soar into the sky.

"Now's your chance, hit him with a Focus Punch!"

Aipom gave a cry of exertion while she balled her tail into a glowing, white fist, and made her descent to meet Piplup on the ground. Piplup seemed to freeze in place as the opposing Pokémon neared her.

"Don't just stand there Piplup! Fire a Bubblebeam while Aipom is still in the air!"

"Pip…" The Penguin Pokémon puffed up his chest to ready the attack. "Luplupluplup!" Piplup then let out a stream of bubbles less sparkly but more powerful than the last as power was more important in this situation.

The bubbles made contact with Aipom's tail, generating an explosion of energy between the two attacks.

The bright explosion blinded the trainer and the coordinator so they would have to wait for the dust to settle to see who the victor would be.

* * *

"Ahhhhhhhhh!" yawned a certain breeder as he sat up and stretched his limbs. Brock looked over at the analog clock that hung before the door and rubbed his eyes. He then blinked several times, if it even is possible to see him blink, and stared at the clock once again.

"Yahhh! It's less than ten minutes from noon, and I need to cook for Ash and Dawn and their Pokémon!"

Not noticing the second human presence in the room, Brock leapt off the top bunk, slamming his head on the ceiling, and sprinted into the bathroom to freshen up. The other person in the room stirred and groggily sat up and looked around the room.

"Ugh… somebody's noisy…"

Altaïr threw off his covers and grabbed his belongings, and strode out of the room. Right as he shut the door, Brock came running back into the bedroom began packing his belongings and supplies, too.

"Let's see, rice, check. Hot water boiler, check…" and he continued going through a list of supplies.

* * *

The dust began clearing as two figures stood on opposite ends of the battlefield. Both held their breaths as they awaited the results of the colliding attacks. Finally, the dust dissipated and two small Pokémon stood their ground near the center of the field.

"Pip! Pip!" challenged the penguin Pokémon from where he stood.

"Aipom! Ai!" retorted the purple monkey Pokémon.

"Aipom, return!" said a voice from behind Aipom. A confused Aipom turned around and saw her trainer looking at her with a Pokéball ready in his hand. Aipom understood Ash's order and quickly ran across the field to where he stood.

"Huh?" Dawn said confusedly. "Why are you recalling Aipom?"

"Well, we can't train them toohard, or else Piplup won't have any energy for the contest tomorrow." Ash explained.

"Mm, I guess you're right." Dawn's demeanor then brightened up. "Let's get some two on two battles in, since those will be the kinds of battles in the contest tomorrow!"

A strange sound then echoed through the air, and the trainer, coordinator, and Pokémon looked at each other strangely. Then, after several seconds, they burst into laughter as they recognized what the sound was.

"Guess we need some food huh," said Ash after the laughter subsided.

"Sure do!" giggled Dawn. "I wonder where Brock is… maybe we have to cook ourselves!" she added in mock horror.

"Pi-pika!" Pikachu joined in.

"Hey, who says I can't be a competent cook," joked Ash back.

"Actually, how about we go back to town for lunch," a deep voice sounded.

Ash Pikachu and Dawn turned around and saw Altaïr, who looked as if he had been through a washing machine, as his hair was stick out in every which direction.

"But, what about Brock?" asked Dawn. "Won't he be looking for us?"

Altaïr shrugged. "Call him; tell him to meet us wherever we end up."

"Wait a second…" but before Ash could continue, his stomach growled again and he gave in. "Ok let's go."

* * *

After a quick look around Lightcrown, Ash, Dawn, Pikachu, and Altaïr soon found a small sushi shop and began ordering immediately.

"Uh… I'm not so good with sushi, so you guys can order for me if you please. Here's 10."

Altaïr handed Ash a bill and went to go sit at a four seat table. Dawn slightly pouted as he left while Ash merely turned his attention back to the menu board.

"Hm, wonder what I should get for him. No Pikachu, there's no ketchup here. You'll have to live without it for now."

Pikachu looked down dejectedly as he cooed "Pika…"

When everything was ordered and the three humans and Pokémon had sat down, they began to dig in.

"Huh, I wonder where Brock is," pondered Ash. "Didn't you call him a while ago Dawn?"

"Yeah, it's not like him to be this late…"

"Well, at least I'm not late anymore," Brock chimed in as he approached the table.

"What kept you?" asked Altaïr in monotone.

"Uh… stuff…" Brock said sheepishly.

"An Officer Jenny?" teased Dawn.

Brock froze up at that but shook himself out of it in a second and sat down next to Altaïr.

"How did she know?" Altaïr could hear Brock mutter under his breath.

After a couple minutes of silence, Altaïr was the first to speak, which was not a common feat.

"Ash, I need to… converse with you after lunch… privately."

Ash, Brock, Dawn, and Pikachu looked at Altaïr as if he had just told an obscene joke.

Altaïr ignored their stares and stood up. "I'm done; just meet me outside when you're done. Pikachu can tag along too, if he pleases." And with that, he ambled through the restaurant doors and onto the street.

* * *

"Hey, Altaïr, I'm finished too."

Altaïr looked up from where he was looking at the ground and began to walk away from where he was leaning on a wall, signaling Ash to follow. Ash obeyed hesitantly.

For about half a block, Ash walked slightly behind Altaïr in silence, until Altaïr slowed his own pace and moved directly next to Ash. They walked silently for several more moments and Ash began to feel uncomfortable. As he was about to speak, Altaïr finally said his first words.

"So… uh…"

Ash stumbled slightly at his anti-climatic opener to whatever he wanted to say.

"_Ugh, I'll just do it. _So uh, Ash, have you ever had any… interests in your life? Besides Pokémon?" Altaïr quickly added.

Ash whirled his head around and gazed at the taller boy with confusion. "Um… what do you mean?"

"Like… interests in other people?"

"What do you mean my interests?"

Altaïr rolled his eyes slightly. _"Yeah he is as dense as he looks."_

"Girls." Altaïr stated simply.

Ash stumbled again as he heard this. After he recovered, he immediately began to babble incoherently.

"_I… expected this too I guess… _Ok, slow down there. Let's start over. Have you ever had any female interests before?"

Ash stopped his babbling and formed one comprehensible question in his head.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Why are you being so defensive?"

"Hey, I asked you first!"

"Not really, I asked you if you've ever had any female interests before first, remember?"

Ash opened his mouth to retort but realized he would just be outsmarted again. However, he still didn't trust Altaïr with information of this kind. Actually, Ash didn't even know what he thought at the moment, so he gave grunt in response.

"Well, I'm not one to push, so if you don't wanna say anything, meh." Altaïr said calmly. He waited several seconds for a response before giving up.

"All right, let's head back to the others," Altaïr turned around and began walking in the opposite direction they had been walking in.

Ash stood where Altaïr had turned around and stared at the ground, mind working at full pace.

"_Do I?"_

* * *

**Afterthought**

Does he? Only time will tell.

Altaïr sure has a way with words, eh?

Well, not so much (or any) real action in this chapter. It was more of a transitional and informational chapter on what the characters are feeling and etc.

The chapter title 'Questions' just displays the questions everyone seems to have.


	11. Silver

**Foreword**

Continued directly from the last chapter.

Viewer discretion is advised for mildly descriptive violence scene.

The song Start Something by Lost Prophets (YouTube is your friend) is for any of you who like listen to music while you read the fight scene (bad habit I know but I still do it).

--------------------

**Chapter 11 - Silver**

After lunch at the sushi shop, Ash, Dawn, and Brock returned to the training fields to resume Dawn's training while Altaïr wandered off on his own. The words of the older teenager lingered in Ash's mind and distracted him from the training.

"Hey Ash, if you don't act now, Pikachu is gonna be the one with that dazed look you have on his face."

Ash shook his head quickly and saw the action that was taking place, and quickly yelled out orders to his Pokémon.

"Staravia, blow Buizel away from Pikachu with a Whirlwind, and follow up with Thunderbolt Pikachu!"

Dawn however, commanded her second Pokémon to go on the offensive. "Buneary, use Bounce on Staravia!"

Both teams followed through on their orders without hesitation. Buneary leapt up with grace towards Staravia in the air but the Starling Pokémon outmaneuvered her and she fell back onto the earth. Staravia then began to use his wings to create a gale that was aimed at a charging Buizel. Buizel was taken out of his Aqua Jet and thrown back by the strong winds, while Pikachu worked himself back onto his feet and began to charge one last attack with all his strength.

"Alright! I think this battle is over now," announced Brock from the sidelines.

Ash and Dawn both looked at him with surprise on their faces.

"Brock, I could have countered Pikachu's attack with Buneary, you know," Dawn rebuked.

"I don't want to risk it, Dawn. As I am the referee of this practice match, it is my responsibility to make sure the Pokémon don't receive any unnecessary damage. If that Thunderbolt hit Buizel while he was in that condition, he may have been out of action for the contest tomorrow," Brock explained.

Dawn resigned and sighed. "I guess you're right Brock."

"Don't sweat it Dawn, you fought a great battle. I think you'll be ready for the contest tomorrow," smiled Ash.

Dawn turned a light shade of pink at the remark, though it remained unnoticed by the two males.

"You-You really think so, Ash?" she asked shyly.

"Of course, you're a great coordinator, Dawn! Why, I bet you could beat everybody, even that Altaïr," Ash said confidently while pumping a fist into the air.

Dawn giggled softly and approached Ash slowly, he not noticing as he was staring at the sky. As Dawn came closer, she hesitated slightly, then finally wrapped her arms around his back and gave him a small hug. Ash felt her arms around him and looked back down with a slightly shocked expression, but calmed down slightly after he processed what was taking place. He brought his arms up as well and gave her a small hug back, blushing heavily at the same time. An eternity seemed to past until the two grasped what they were doing, and broke apart quickly.

"Thanks for um… believing in me… Ash," Dawn whispered softly.

"Er… um… no problem... Dawn," Ash replied with a whisper as well.

_"Wow, he's not babbling like an idiot this time,"_ Brock mused.

--------------------

More hard hours of training passed before the trainer and coordinator realized their hunger, and so the breeder then began to cook up dinner right on the training field so they could resume training after. Deep in the city, another coordinator and trainer were heading to the same destination.

Altaïr strolled slowly on the busy sidewalk, taking in the sights of the beautiful city. The day was beginning to fade away as evening approached, and the sky gleamed orange. He breathed in the air, smelling the fumes and exhaust in it, and cleared his throat. As he neared an intersection, he looked up at the street signs, which read 1st Avenue and Thompson Street, confirming that he was heading in the right direction. The trainer walked another half a block until he finally made out the words 'Spotlight Café' in the distance, and made his way to the building the neon words hung over while flicking his long messy hair off his face.

_"I need a haircut," _concluded Altaïr.

He reached the pair of glass doors and stared blankly at them, before shaking himself back into reality and pushing the two doors open.

Inside, the air was filled with smells of food and low murmurs of conversing patrons. Altaïr glanced around the interior for the person he was to meet, but unable to spot her, he walked over to a wooden bench in a corner and sat down. He stared tiredly out the window to his side and pondered what he was to do later that night.

-------------------

_"Oh no, I'm late! I hope he's not mad for making him wait this long."_

A red bandanna-wearing girl ran down the sidewalk while checking her PokéNav every few seconds. Her long brunette hair flailed behind her as she made her way through the busy crowd while her heart beat wildly in her chest.

_"I knew I shouldn't have trained so far away from the cit-," _

_THUD_

Not looking where she was going, the brunette bounced off the body of a large burly man standing in the center of the sidewalk and tumbled backwards. Another man, this one without a shirt and having tattoos on his entire body, peered around the larger man and raised an eyebrow. However, before either of the men could say anything, the girl had already gotten back on her feet and began to run again while yelling a "Sorry!" backwards.

Another minute of running passed until the girl finally reached her destination. She charged through the door, causing a scene, and looked around frantically until she caught sight of the person she was to meet sitting on a bench in the corner.

"Hey, May" greeted Altaïr, giving a look of amusement at her current state, and at his rhyme.

"I am SO sorry that I'm late!" May panted while putting her hands on her knees and bending forward to catch her breath.

Altaïr looked amused. "Late? It's 6:03," he said while pointing a clock above the main entrance.

May gave a look of embarrassment, and kept silent.

"Let's, get a table eh?" suggested the teenaged boy.

The coordinator could only nod while she blushed a slight red, though Altaïr paid no notice.

Altaïr promptly requested a two seat table and soon they were on their way to be seated. They sat down at their table and a slim waiter who looked no older than Altaïr soon came by with a pair of menus. Altaïr and May ordered drinks and after the waiter had left, began to shift through the pages.

A silence befell them as they studied the pages of the menus, and May began to feel a slight uneasiness in the quietness between them. Whenever she tried to open her mouth to say something however, Altaïr would always seem to move right at that moment, making her retreat once again. After what seemed like an eternity, Altaïr finally said his first words to her after their initial encounter.

"I think I'll have the salmon, how 'bout you?" he said from behind his menu.

May almost fell over at hearing his insignificant words, and screamed as loud as she could in her head from the frustration. Altaïr noticed her movements and peered around his menu at the estranged coordinator.

"Um, you alright there?"

May dropped a bit of sweat, and feigned a smile while telling him, "I'm alright. I think I'll just have a salad."

Altaïr looked slightly annoyed as he questioned, "Why does it seem like the only things girls eat nowadays are salads? Or nothing at all," he added.

"No, no it's not like I'm trying to lose weight or anything, I'm just not very hungry!"

In reality, May was famished, and she knew that. Her lie bit her in the back of her mind as she wondered why she was ordering a salad when she in fact was hungry. The obvious answer eluded her.

Altaïr shrugged and put down his menu and glanced around for the waiter. He soon arrived and the trainer and coordinator recited their orders. The waiter promptly took note and walked away to fulfill them.

The two sat across from each other silently for many minutes, with Altaïr talking sips from his non-alcoholic strawberry daiquiri, and May slurping a bit of her orange soda from her straw. May felt the tension of the silence once again, and began to shift uncomfortably in her seat. However, this time Altaïr seemed to have no inclination to say anything, so May began to summon up as much courage as she could to speak first. She did not know what made her so nervous but she knew that she was seeing the tall teenaged boy in a new light. Her cheeks turned a slight pink as she created a short fantasy in her head, but shook it out as she finally thought of something to say.

"So, do you like strawberries?" May's inner conscience beat her in the head at the small talk she was making.

"Uh, yeah, it's my favorite fruit…" Altaïr spoke skeptically while raising an eyebrow.

_"Huh, what's up with this girl? What's with her not asking about Ash first?"_

May also was wonder the same thoughts as he, but quickly put her mind back on the conversation at hand.

"Mm, that's nice. I like strawberries too," May replied, though in fact, she actually didn't like strawberries very much since they often were sour whenever she had them.

"That's… great." Altaïr said without much enthusiasm, as the gears in his brain were still turning as he speculated about what the coordinator was up to.

The silence settled back in, and the two just sat tensely across each other. Soon, the food arrived and their mouths would have something to do now besides speak. Altaïr ate the rice on the side of his salmon slowly as May carefully munched on her Caesar salad. Finally, Altaïr couldn't take it anymore and he spoke out assertively.

"Ok, do you want to know about what Ash said, or not? I mean that _is _what this meeting is for, right?"

May felt as if somebody had stabbed her in the chest as he said the last part. She immediately began to feel guilty as well as she began to realize that she had been avoiding the topic of Ash the entire time so she could have more small talk with Altaïr, and maybe have the possibility of talking about something even deeper…

May put on a sheepish smile and gave a light laugh as she said, "Oh, sorry Altaïr, of course I want to know what Ash said. I just didn't want to rush you or anything. You can tell me about Ash now if you'd like."

Altaïr looked at May with a bit of suspicion, but returned to his original demeanor before he had lashed out at her.

"Alright, well, I didn't really… get a real response from Ash. As soon as I brought up the topic about girls and whether or not he was interested in one, he became very defensive. I'm sorry, but I guess he just doesn't trust me with knowledge of his personal life, or really just doesn't have anything to say." Altaïr shrugged his shoulders and took a sip out of his daiquiri.

"Oh," was all the coordinator could say. "That's alright." However, inside her, the disappointment didn't seem to affect her significantly. The rest of the evening would go by in silence as the two teenagers felt a new sense of awkwardness between them. Altaïr for his failure to get information, and May for her behavior.

Eventually, the two had finished their meals, and the check was brought by the waiter. May began to search through her fanny pack for her money but Altaïr was one step ahead of her and handed the waiter two twenties and told him to keep the change.

_"Wow, what a gentleman…" _

"Shall we leave?"

May glanced up at Altaïr who had already stood up, and nodded while standing up as well. The two made for the exit and Altaïr gave his compliments to the manager who was standing by the door as they passed.

Altaïr pushed the two glass doors open with a shove and the dusky evening sky came into view. However, that was not all that was visible to the pair.

About 20 meters from the entrance stood five men, some large and bulky while others slimmer but muscular nonetheless. Two men were identified by Altaïr and May immediately.

"Miss us?" sneered a familiar shirtless man covered in tattoos.

"'Ello there," said a large burly man, with an air of stupidity in his voice.

Altaïr narrowed his eyes as he took in the full appearance of the two thugs for the first time. He noticed that the shirtless tattooed man sported a mohawk on his head, and wore a pair of black leather pants with chains hanging from the sides. The large burly man was completely bald on the top of his head, and had a shadow of a beard on his round head. He wore a denim jacket ripped at the sleeves with a white undershirt that seemed to barely fit him, with a pair of loose cargo pants to go. He was much taller than the shirtless man, and looked to be stupider as well.

_"Your regular brain and muscle."_

"Who are these people, Altaïr? Do you know them?" asked May nervously.

The shirtless man laughed loudly as she spoke. "Who's this with you this time, kid? You're second girlfriend?"

May blushed from embarrassment but Altaïr merely stared passively at the five opposing men. He didn't have an angry look on his face, which slightly irked the shirtless man. Altaïr took note that he probably was the leader of this small band of thugs.

"What do you want?" questioned Altaïr in a chilling voice.

"Oh, nuttin' much, we just wanted to thank you for what you did to us and our buds yesterday." The shirtless man gave a sinister grin as he said this.

May glanced at all the men with confusion, and was about question Altaïr about the men again until she noticed what each of the men were holding in their hands.

The three thugs unknown to Altaïr and May wielded a metal baseball bat, crowbar, and heavy chain, and toyed with them threateningly; the burly man carried a large sledgehammer and twirled it with his two hands with ease; and the shirtless man, carried the weapon that May feared the most. He wielded a large 12 inch blade that gleamed menacingly in the street lamps that were beginning to turn on. There was still a bit of sunlight for the conflict that was about to occur. He felt the edge of his blade as he continued.

"So you punkass, how should we do this? Are you gonna run so we can have a fun 'lil chase? Or are you going to stand here and fight? Oh, and I wouldn't suggest going for your Pokéballs, 'cause if you do, you, her, and your Pokémon will be in a battle of real pain."

Several pedestrians had noticed the confrontation and began to move away. Altaïr merely stared straight ahead and said nothing.

"I'll also make a deal with you. Stay and fight, and we won't hurt your 'lil girly over there when you're dead… much," the shirtless man said as he eyed May with smile.

"I don't make deals with scum like you."

The shirtless thug began to open his mouth to spit out a retort, but before he knew it, Altaïr had moved with inhuman speed and was already within five meters of him. The leader gave a snarl and brought his blade up to counter the oncoming assault, but with bestial agility, Altaïr had leapt over the man and landed on the thug wielding the baseball bat behind him, knocking him flat on his back.

The baseball wielding man gave a grunt has he hit the ground hard, but wasn't taken out of the fight. However, Altaïr didn't plan to stay still in one spot, and had already got off the thug and was already engaging the chain carrying thug with his fists.

May had been stunned as in one second, Altaïr had been standing beside her and in the next, he was in a melee with five armed men. The screams of the pedestrians and onlookers were drowned out by the blood rushing through her brain and the fear grasping her heart.

The man who carried the chain had trouble swinging his lengthy weapon at the teenaged boy as the boy was moving agilely and was striking him relentlessly with his limbs. However, the thug was able to withstand Altaïr's flurry of punches, though barely, and he backed off after ten seconds of the onslaught.

The man with the baseball bat had brought himself off the ground and attempted to sneak up on Altaïr in order to strike him from the back, but Altaïr detected his presence and quickly gave him a powerful kick to his stomach, sending the man back to the ground.

Altaïr whirled around quickly as he heard a loud shout, and saw the burly man charging him with his sledgehammer raised above his head. Altaïr dived to the side as the thug brought the hammer down onto the cement, creating a crater in the cement. The trainer rolled once and was back onto his feet in a battle ready stance. Four armed men stood in front of him, and Altaïr strategized on how he would take on this feat.

The four men then moved to form a circle around Altaïr. The circle left a space of ten meters between Altaïr and the four thugs in every direction. After several seconds of inactivity, the man with the crowbar made the first move by running into the circle from Altaïr's right flank and swinging his crowbar. But Altaïr had sensed the attack and crouched down with one leg bent and the other extended out to his side. The goon missed completely as he had swung horizontally, giving Altaïr the opportunity to strike. Altaïr pulled off what looked to be a break-dancing move, as he planted his two hands on the cement and rotated himself 180 degrees, tripping the crowbar wielding man with his extended leg. The man fell backwards and was fearful that a beating was soon to be in effect, but Altaïr had already moved on and pounced from his crouching position at the man with the chain.

The chain wielding goon attempted to swing his chain at Altaïr, but as the chain was about to connect with Altaïr's side, Altaïr deftly caught the chain with his left hand while still in midair, and proceeded swing his end of the chain back at the man as he landed. The chain made contact with the side of the thug's head, instantly knocking him out.

The crowbar and baseball bat wielding men then made for Altaïr from behind with weapons raised, while the burly man with the sledgehammer charged from the front. Altaïr identified the attacks from both sides, and performed a move that surprised everybody watching the scene.

The hammer wielding thug reached Altaïr first, and gave a mighty yell as he swung his hammer horizontally with all his might, in an attempt to crush his ribs. The two other men then came within range of Altaïr and began to swing their weapons as well. Altaïr was prepared for the attack, however. Before the hammer came into contact with his body, he jumped straight up with his legs bent. As if it were in slow motion, he then rotated his body sideways until it was completely parallel with the ground. Right as he completed this action, the hammer came across the area that his body had once been, but now because he was airborne and parallel with the swing of the hammer, he stayed unharmed. However, his two assaulters from behind weren't as lucky. As they missed their attacks, they stumbled forward into Altaïr's former position, and the crowbar wielding thug took the full brunt of the burly man's hammer straight into his chest. The thug was thrown sideways into the man with the baseball bat, and both were on the ground in the next second, several meters from where they had originally been. The burly man only looked at the two fallen men dumbly, before he realized what he had just done. He then went into a rage and was about to swing his hammer once again, before Altaïr seemed to materialize from the ground and strike the man from underneath with a swift kick to his groin. The large goon groaned and dropped his hammer before falling onto the ground, incapacitated.

Unnoticed by Altaïr because of the intensity of the fight, the shirtless man had snuck away from the main battle and had been creeping up on May from the dark wall of the café. May, who was still standing near the entrance of the café, was so absorbed in the battle in front of her that she hadn't noticed the man from the corner of her eye until he was within a few meters from her. As soon as she spotted the man, she let out a scream, only to have her mouth covered by the shirtless thug and a blade pressed up at her throat. Altaïr heard the scream, and turned around to see the leading thug holding May hostage at knife-point. He had only a few seconds to act.

"Don't think about doing anythin' kiddo, lest you want this 'lil cutie to have an 'accident'," the shirtless man taunted.

Altaïr wasn't one to stand around, however, and as the man ended his sentence, he summoned that inhuman speed he seemed to possess and sprinted at the hostage and her captor. Between the shirtless man and Altaïr was a bench, and Altaïr used this to his advantage.

The shirtless thug seemed to become paralyzed as he saw Altaïr approaching him and slightly lost his grip on the blade. Altaïr saw this little action and knew that it was the time to act. Altaïr leapt from the cement onto the bench and proceeded to step onto the back of the bench, where he used the extra height to propel himself even higher. He was now airborne a good two meters in the air and began to descend upon his target. The leading thug was still unable to move out of the pure amazement of Altaïr's stunt.

A flash then appeared at Altaïr's left hand, and when he came into range, he brought his left hand onto the shirtless man's right shoulder, causing him scream out in pain and his arm to go into a spasm, causing his hand to open its grip. The blade left the man's hand, safely away from May's throat. May was able to escape from the thug's left arm that was wrapped around her torso and put a small distance in between them before she turned around and witnessed the final scene.

Altaïr was now behind the shirtless man, standing back to back with him. The shirtless man seemed to have a glazed look on his face while Altaïr stood motionless. As she watched the scene, May could make out a silvery object protruding from the man's right shoulder. Her focus soon returned and she noticed a red substance coming out of where the silvery object was inserted.

Before May was able to make any hypothesis to what had happened, Altaïr swiftly turned around and grabbed the object that stuck out of the man's shoulder, and pulled it sideways out of the shoulder, causing a sound that chilled May to the bone. May could now see that the small silvery object was a small pocket knife, drenched in the man's blood. She could also see the path where Altaïr had brutally pulled it out, and nausea began to overtake her. Altaïr then kicked the shirtless man in the back to the ground, where the man lay motionless, and grabbed May's hand and led her away from the scene.

Under normal circumstances, May would have been feeling butterflies in her stomach.

**--------------------**

**Afterthought**

Intense, no?

Hopefully you all were able to understand the fight scene well enough from my writing; it was pretty tough to write. I used many units of measurement in order to better visualize the scene (as I said before, seeing a story is important), and hopefully that worked to its effect.

The chapter title 'Silver' refers to the silver object Altaïr wielded.


	12. Shocking

**Foreword**

I wonder how many of you readers actually forgot about why the gang was actually in Lightcrown in the first place. I know I almost did when I was writing. P

Who says the drinking age in the Pokémon world is 21?

Pretty short chapter, but filled with a ton of information and emotions. Mostly narrative.

--------------------

**Chapter 12 ****–**** Shocking**

It was the dead of night, and the streets of downtown Lightcrown were deserted due to the contest that was to take place the following morning. Not a soul was stirring, except for a certain breeder's.

Brock trudged along the empty sidewalk of the downtown district, slightly disoriented from the activities he had just engaged in the hour before. The taste of liquor lingered in his mouth as he attempted to navigate a straight path for the Pokémon Center.

He soon came across one of the two large clock towers that gave the city its name. This one was named 'Light Tower', and stood to mark the southern sector of the city where the downtown district was located. The other, placed at the northern end, was called 'Crown Tower', and that marked the beginning of the northern area of the city, which was also the newest. To the east of the new sector was the old sector, where the abandoned homes and businesses lay in ruins from riots and crime. In between the northern and southern divisions was the middle district, which contained the main, commercial, and residential sectors. Brock knew he had to get back to the southwestern corner of the main sector, which was where the central Pokémon Center was located.

Though Brock had clearly gotten himself drunk, he still had enough sense in him to take notice of the time. He lazily turned his head upward to peer at the great clock that stood hundreds of meters above him. As he slowly read the hands of the clock, he noticed a dark figure perched on the ledge above the face of the clock. His drunken curiosity soon got to him and he squinted as much as he could in order to examine the figure more closely. It wasn't the shape of any Pokémon he knew, so he quickly inferred that the figure must be a human crouched on the ledge. He soon began to lose interest as the figure was motionless, but just as he began to peel his eyes away, the shadowy figure performed a feat that shocked him even in his drunken state.

The dark silhouette jumped from the ledge and spread his arms out as if it was to begin flying. From Brock's angle, the figure even did seem like some sort of bird. However, the figure did not fly, but instead began plummeting toward the ground at full speed. The figure seemed to be in control of itself, though, as it straightened its body so that it pointed directly downwards into a dive. The figure soon was blocked by several buildings that lay in between Brock and the base of the clock tower, so Brock was unable to witness the fate of the figure. Not that he cared too much though; he was too drunk.

--------------------

The day had finally arrived. The day that the entire city of Lightcrown had been anticipating was at last at hand. The streets were buzzing with inhabitants and tourists alike, with many making their way to the great contest hall located at the center of the main sector. The sea of people that flooded the massive stadium was staggering, as it could hold up to 60,000 people at full capacity. Not to mention the event would be broadcasted on the numerous giant television screens that were scattered throughout the main sector, so people who weren't physically attending the contest could still watch it on the streets.

For a certain young blue-haired coordinator, the publicity made its toll on her psyche.

It was five minutes until 10 a.m., the official start time of the contest, and Dawn was staring at her reflection in the public dressing room mirror. With the large number of coordinators present, the use of private rooms was impossible.

With the shopping Dawn had done with Ash, she hadn't neglected to pick up a new dress for the spectacular occasion. Instead of her usual pink dress with the puffy skirt, Dawn donned a long, flowing, blue gown, which matched the color of Piplup. The gown had sleeves that went up to her elbows and a wavy skirt that draped just above her ankles. Sequin lined the area around her waist and a baby blue scarf completed the ensemble. She also stylized her hair into a wavy pattern as well, to match with her dress, with it flowing freely down. She was physically ready for the contest, but she still wasn't quite emotionally ready. The sheer number of people watching was disheartening.

In an attempt to build up confidence, she tried to picture herself appealing and battling her way to the winners stand and receiving the trophy, ribbon, and shopping spree check. She then pictured Ash congratulating her for her victory, Altaïr actually fully smiling at her, Ash approaching her, Altaïr approaching her, Ash's face nearing hers, Altaïr's face nearing hers… Ash… Altaïr… Ash… Altaïr…

She then remembered the kiss that she gave to Altaïr during the time at the fountain after he had rescued her from the thugs in the alley. But now, she could see that it was just a silly girlish antic that she had always wanted to pull off, or rather that's what she told herself to believe, as deep inside, she was still unsure of her own feelings.

"Calling all coordinators, calling all coordinators, please report to the stage entrance at this time."

Dawn snapped out of her images, and realized that everybody around her was making their way out of the dressing room. She envisioned the scene one last time before following the crowd out of the room and through several hallways leading for the stage entrance.

They at last reached a large room that looked to be the staging area, with large hanging TV screens, scoreboards, tables, chairs, and couches occupying much of the area. Dawn was able to make out a pair of giant sliding doors that had the words 'Stage' over it. The excitement began to swell in her chest as the thrill of competing in a contest returned to her from the last contest she attended weeks ago. Adrenaline also began to pump as she thought of victory once again, but as she eyed her competition, she caught sight of Altaïr. Dawn then remembered the battle he and Ash had on the first day of their encounter, and the feelings of anxiety and fear from two days before began to creep into her mind. She thought of the prospect of battling such a trainer, even in a contest battle. Unless he lost all his points due to major follies, which was highly improbable, he would only need to knock out her Pokémon to gain victory.

_"C'mon Dawn, where's that confidence you managed to find __in __the past few days? You can't wimp out at the last second now…"_

Altaïr was much less enthusiastic than the rest of the coordinators, as he had been somewhat seduced into the competition, by a 12 year old girl no less. He glanced around at the numerous competition, and chuckled in his head at the silly appearances of some of the male coordinators. Altaïr himself hadn't even bothered to go for a change of clothes, as he still wore his black fleece jacket and baggy blue jeans. Some of the coordinators scoffed at his appearance, but Altaïr merely smiled politely back at them.

_"What a bunch of snobs, eh?"_

Altaïr scanned the crowd before him a second time, before finally laying his eyes on a familiar brunette headed girl. He could only see the back of her head as the bodies of several other people blocked the way.

_"Now what do we have here?"_

Before he could attempt to wade through to crowd to reach the brunette, the PA system spoke once again.

"Would all the coordinators present please line up into two even lines and wait for the doors to open. When the doors open, please file out along the appointed path in an orderly fashion. Thank you."

_"Well, it's time."_

-------------------

Ash, Brock, Pikachu, and Happiny, whom Brock finally decided to take her out of the daycare center of the Pokémon Center and with him to the special event, saw the large sliding doors at the north end of the circular stadium slide open, revealing the first coordinators that walked out of the door. The full hall erupted into cheers and applause as more coordinators stepped out of the entranceway and toward the circular elevated stage in the center. The stage was flat and plain, as it had to be viewed from all 360 degrees of the contest hall, with one wide ramp leading from the path that the coordinators treaded on. Ash, Brock, and Pikachu scanned the crowds for Dawn and Altaïr but since they were sitting in the middle section of the gargantuan stadium, they had to rely on the four large widescreens that stood on the top of the stadium.

The widescreens showed images of what the cameramen recording the event saw as they panned over the line of coordinators. Ash and Brock stared at the screen directly across the contest hall from them until it showed one of the cameras that had an angle where they could see Dawn.

"Wow Ash, did you pick that dress out for her? Looks good, no?" Brock joked.

"Ok, lay off the jokes Brock, getting kind of old." Ash retorted. "By the way, you ok? You look a little… crooked there."

Indeed Brock did seem to slouch sideways as he sat in his seat and held Happiny, due to his massive hangover from the early morning clubbing he had done.

"Oh, uh, I'm ok. Just a bit tired, that's all."

While Ash and Brock conversed, Pikachu kept his eyes glued onto the widescreens, interested in the large amount of coordinators that walked the grounds. Right as Brock and Ash concluded their conversation, the image of the screen shifted to another angle, and Pikachu caught a glimpse of a very familiar looking coordinator. He rubbed his eyes to make sure they weren't deceiving them, and glanced back up at the screen, only to see that the camera had changed angles again.

"Yeah, ok Brock, whatever you say." Ash turned his attention back to the widescreen to see Altaïr captured on video. "Heh, there's Altaïr." The conversation that Ash had with the still mysterious teenager the previous day still lingered in his mind, as well as May.

_"May would love being in a contest like this…"_

--------------------

After the short walk on the path to the stage, the coordinators lined up into orderly rows and stood by as the MC came onto the stage and gave the opening speech.

"Welcome all… to the 9th annual Lightcrown Pokémon Contest Festival! I am your host, Brian Teawest, and prepare to witness the greatest event in all of Sinnoh!"

_"That's a bit of an over-exaggeration,"_ commented a certain teenaged boy on the stage.

"This year, we have a total of 68 coordinators competing for a prize, a trophy, and most of all, _glory_!" Brian shouted the last word in order to incur a wave of cheers and applause from the crowd.

"Looks like I don't have to tell you all to give a round of applause for our coordinators now!"

_"This guy's cheesy."_

"The procedure of this contest will be the same as last year's; it is a double Pokémon contest, as always, and today, every coordinator will perform his or her appeal with a time limit of three minutes. From there, the judges will then determine which 32 coordinators make it to the next battle round, which then 16 double contest battles, with a time limit of five minutes, will take place, leaving 16 coordinators standing. On day two, the 16 skillful coordinators will appeal once again, and the judges will rule out eight coordinators from the running. The final battle rounds will then take place in tournament style, and the remaining eight coordinators will then fight their way to the top. However, this year, the final battle shall have a twist. That's right folks, a twist! In the final battle round, the opponent gets to choose what Pokémon the other is to use, so you'd all better take some notes, lest you be unprepared to choose the Pokémon you want to be up against if you make it to the final round. And now…"

The entire stadium hushed as he said the words.

"Let the contest begin!"

The crowd roared into a thunderous cheer that could be heard for a mile at least. Ash, Brock, and Pikachu yelled as well and were deafened by the noise. The coordinators on the stage cheered and applauded as well while MC Brian brought the mike back to his mouth to call out the first coordinator.

"And now… give a warm welcome to May!"

--------------------

**Afterthought**

And now Ash knows of May's presence. About that time eh?

Now the question is, when will they meet?

Hope you enjoyed the content in this one. I'm not sure what made me think about it, but writing a small history of Lightcrown gave me a feel that the place was more, real, for lack of a better word.

The chapter title 'Shocking' pretty much sums up how Ash is feeling.


	13. Wonderwall

**Foreword**

Now, what is Ash to do now he has found May? Only reading on will tell.

Semi-songfic done in this chapter, but it's melded into the story so there isn't really any interruption. Can you guess the song before you read the chapter? P

Hopefully, I was able to write a contest appeal alright. Only you all can decide that.

-------------------

**Chapter 13 –****Wonderwall**

"MAY?!"

Despite being in a loud stadium holding 60,000 people, Ash's voice managed to turn the heads of every person sitting up to five rows in front of him. Brock and Pikachu were surprised by her appearance as well, but it was nothing compared to the fire in the boy's eyes as he stared at the screen that was now focused on May.

_"W-w-w-w-what is she doing here__" _even the voice in Ash's head stammered with a mix of emotions.

"Pika!" Pikachu tried jumping and waving his arms in front of Ash's face but since he had stood up from his seat upon hearing May's name, Pikachu could not grab his attention.

Brock merely sat quietly next to the trainer, smiling at his reaction. _"I wonder what he's thinking now…"_

But Ash didn't know what to think. Thousands of images of the past flooded his mind, threatening to implode his brain if he didn't regain control of his conscious. He knew that he had been thinking about her often during his journey through Sinnoh, and as time passed and as Brock mentioned her more and more, he had discovered a feeling inside him that was incomprehensible. All it felt like to him was a swelling feeling in his chest and a tingling feeling in his stomach. Brock's comments about May had always puzzled him as well, and he was still unsure of what the true meanings of those comments were. The only thing he knew for sure was that he wished she had been with him on his journey in Sinnoh ever since he arrived.

And now that wish had come true.

"Hey Ash, wanna sit down? You're kind of blocking the way for some of the people behind you."

An audible pop could be heard in Ash's ears as he receded from the inner bowels of his mind and back into the physical world. He looked at Pikachu, then at Brock, then at the people behind him shouting for him to sit down, before finally resigning from thinking too hard again, and sat down.

Ash once again looked back at the widescreen that had been focused on May, and he took in everything he saw. May looked a tad different from the last time he had seen her years ago; she looked older, and more beautiful, but it was probably due to the dress that she was wearing for the contest, Ash rationalized. The dress was a bright red evening gown that flowed gently down the sides of the coordinator's body, fitting her form very well. The sparkles in the material shined brightly in the sunlight of the morning and she seemed to radiate an aura of brilliance. She wasn't wearing her usual bandanna as it didn't fit with her formal attire, and her hair flowed like silk freely down the back of her head. The sight took Ash's breath away as he continued to stare.

May, who was down on the stage directly in the center of the hall, smiled brightly as cheers and applause surrounded her. She then turned around and glanced at the coordinators leaving the stage in order to make room for her to appeal, and saw the figure of Altaïr leaving the stage last. The events of the previous day crept into her mind once again, as she had been replaying what had happened that evening repeatedly.

* * *

"Is he… is he… dead?" May whispered with apprehension quietly after Altaïr had led her by her hand for several blocks. 

"Shouldn't be, I only aimed to take his arm out. He shouldn't be able to use it to hurt anybody anytime soon," Altaïr replied with an impassive tone.

"But you, you stabbed him!" the coordinator suddenly blurted out.

"Yeah, I know I did."

The manner in which Altaïr spoke was unnerving to May. He didn't seem at all affected at the feat he had performed minutes earlier, and he spoke with out a single shred of emotion. It was almost as if he had done things like that before.

"It was to protect you," he continued. "If I didn't act…" There was no need to complete the sentence, as May came to the realization too. Since she had never been held at knife point before, the idea of being a hostage on the verge of death was something new to her.

May stopped, and that stopped Altaïr as well since they were holding hands. She had to say it.

"Thank… you… not just for rescuing me, but for being there for me at that ice cream parlor." May gazed into the tall teenager's black eyes, and noted how lifeless they looked when they in fact carried much life. She felt mesmerized by the boy as he stared back, and before she knew it, she began to lean into him, lifting her head to make contact with his. She closed her eyes…

But Altaïr had different plans, and he immediately let go of her hand and turned away when she had shut her eyes. May reopened them as she felt his hand and body slip away, to see him walking silently down the street.

_"__Altaïr__…"_

* * *

_"What's happening to me? __Why do I feel these things that I… that I feel for…__Ash…__ when I'm around__Altaïr__ now?"_The smile on her face disappeared as the flurry of emotions returned to her. 

_"I love… I love…"_

"Alright May, it is now time for you to make your three minute appeal! Good luck and impress the judges!"

May snapped back to the world and she realized she was the only one standing on the stage with thousands of spectators waiting for a show. Her previous emotions left her as new ones of intensity and vigor filled her spirit. It was time to compete.

"Come on out… Beautifly and Skitty!"

May tossed two Pokéballs high into the sky that released two Pokémon in an explosion of sparkles of all colors, thanks to the ball capsules and seals she used. The first Pokémon that appeared was a butterfly Pokémon with a long, skinny mouth and wings with yellow, blue, and red shapes on them. The Pokémon chirped happily as she made a sparkling entrance. The second Pokémon was a small pink kitten Pokémon. The little Pokémon had a tan underside and face, as well as squinted eyes and a large balloon shaped tail which ended with three protrusions. The Pokémon flipped and gave a "Nyaa" before landing on the ground next to her partner.

May looked up at one of the large screens at the top of the stadium and saw that the time had begun to run in the lower left corner of the screen. She had to act fast.

"Let's go! Beautifly, use Stun Spore over the stage!"

Beautifly chirped in acknowledgement and swiftly flew high over the stage, letting out a golden powder that would paralyze any living creature when inhaled.

"Skitty, Blizzard!"

The small kitten Pokémon puffed up her little chest before letting out a tremendous "NYAAAAAA!" which released an immense Blizzard attack that intertwined with the Stun Spore. The particles of the Stun Spore instantly froze in the Blizzard attack and became small snowflakes that glided gently towards the ground. The crowd began to applaud the spectacular winter wonderland May had created, but she wasn't done yet.

"Beautifly, Silver Wind now!"

Beautifly flew under where all the frozen Stun Spore was falling and then began to beat her wings powerfully, sending spiraling scales upward into the imitation snowfall. The scales sliced into the cloud of frozen Stun Spore, propelling it upwards, and causing individual particles to explode into puffs of sparkling light. The explosions looked like small fireworks in the middle of the day, and the sheer amount of the exploding Stun Spore was awe-inspring.

The crowd exploded into a frenzy of acclamation at the beautiful scene before them. Ash, Brock, and Pikachu stood up in their seats and yelled praises to May even though it was impossible to be heard. May looked up at her performance with satisfaction, and glanced at the time, seeing that there was still a minute and twenty seconds left, enough time to pull off a second performance.

"Alright Skitty, let's go with an Assist!"

May knew that the move was risky, as it could pull out any move of any Pokémon she carried into the arena, but she had prepared a response for most of the attacks that may appear as Beautifly had quite a large moveset to compensate.

Skitty stood still for a couple of seconds until a move finally came out of the little Pokémon. It was a Flamethrower attack from May's Blaziken that was released from Skitty's mouth. The small Pokémon tilted her head directly at the sky and let the immense blaze loose.

"Beautifly, your turn! String Shot!"

The butterfly Pokémon uncurled her mouth and shot a long sticky white string into the blaze which began to spiral around the fire, creating a spinning tornado of fire and string. The string amazingly stayed untouched by the flames, and continued to spiral all the way to the top of the fire that Skitty was maintaining.

"Now, Psychic!"

Beautifly ceased to fire the string shot from her mouth as she began to glow with a purple aura. Focusing her mind on the task, Beautifly began to part the flames and string and lift it into the sky. Skitty then halted the Flamethrower attack as it was no longer needed, and Beautifly continued to move the string and fire separately, being careful to keep the string intact. May checked the timer once again, seeing that there were only 20 seconds left in her limit. She could only hope that Beautifly could complete her task in time.

Using every part of her mind, the butterfly Pokémon began to stretch the string shot out into a shape of some sort. The fire still hovered around the string but was prevented by Beautifly's mind to touch the delicate string. 10 seconds were left on the clock and something recognizable could be made out from the string. The cursive letters M, A, and Y inside a star could be deciphered in the sky, and as the construction was completed, Beautifly finally let the flames she had been holding back for so long to consume the lettering, creating a beautiful flaming message in the sky.

The bell signaling the end of the allotted time rang out, and May sighed with relief. She had gotten the move done in the nick of time, and all the spectators roared excitedly at the splendid performance.

Throughout the appeal, May had been so focused on her own actions that the voice of the MC had been drowned out in her mind, but being finally finished with it, she heard the last few words of MC Brian.

"Now that was an amazing usage of String Shot and Flamethrower, which came from May's Skitty's Assist move! Using such a move shows how well a coordinator can adapt as any move that a Pokémon she owns could be used. Such a venture and spectacular performance should almost guarantee a spot in these preliminaries. Congratulations May!"

May smiled broadly and held two Pokéballs out to recall her Pokémon.

"You two did a great job, I'm proud of you."

May put her Pokéballs away and began bowing in every direction as the stadium surrounded all 360 degrees of her. She looked up into the crowd, and scanned it for any sign of a specific boy, but with the thousands of people surrounding her, it was an impossibility. May then bowed one more time, and made her way for the ramp to exit the stage.

_"I hope you're proud of me." _

-------------------

The sliding doors opened and the heads of every coordinator turned to see May entering the staging area. A large number of coordinators applauded her and a few even came straight up to compliment her. One young male coordinator stammered as he tried to get out a simple "Nice job" to her, which caused May to giggle and the boy to blush. She then realized she was quite thirsty from the time she had just spent in the warm sun, and began walking to the juice bar for a drink until a certain blue haired coordinator ran up to her.

"Are-are you _THE _May?"

May whirled around and saw the wide eyes of an extremely excited girl in front of her.

"Um… yes? Who are you?"

The girl didn't seem to hear the question as she inquired on.

"_THE _May?-" the girl emphasized again. "-That traveled with Ash throughout Hoenn?"

May then realized who the girl in front of her must have been.

"Yes, I am, and I am assuming you are Dawn?" she said with a polite smile.

"I am! Oh wow, Ash has told me so much about you throughout our journey. It's finally great to meet you in person!" Dawn jumped up and down like a young child who had just gotten another cookie from the jar.

_"Ash talked about me?"_

May saw Altaïr approaching the bar at that moment, but he then seemed to change his mind and turned away to go somewhere else. She could have sworn that he made eye contact with her before he turned around, but she already had a new acquaintance on her hands.

"That was an amazing performance, May! I can see why Ash spoke so highly of you now."

This was unexpected by May. The thought of Ash talking about her turned the gears in her head once again.

_"So Ash talks about me__... and of good things too…__ what does that mean? Does this mean he…__ actually __does__care about me__, even after all this time__?"_

Being out of the heat of the contest for the moment, May's previous confused feelings returned to her and she once again tried to comprehend them. She then saw Altaïr once again, in between a couple groups of coordinators, and her she retreated into the depths of her conscious.

_"Who… WHO__"_

She knew she had liked Ash for more than a friend by the end of their journey through Kanto and the Battle Frontier, but Ash had only showed his usual kindness and helpfulness to her; as he did with everybody else, save for a few moments on the journey. Sure he had rescued her numerous times as well, but it wasn't like he hadn't done those things either. By the end of their journey together, even though she liked him, his cluelessness and density towards love finally frustrated her enough so that she began to think of other options. She concluded that Ash was not ready for any sort of relationship as his focus would always be on Pokémon. The option appeared with Drew, when he asked her to come with him to Johto, which she quickly agreed as her rivals would be there, and as well as being away from Ash, who was now a painful object in her head. But it was the final straw; he couldn't have her now even if he wanted her. But the question of whether or not Ash shared her same feelings constantly gnawed at her, especially when she had gotten together with Drew during her trek through Johto. After the terrible act Drew had committed, she knew that her actions had been a huge mistake, and she set out to find Ash once again, this time with a new sense of affection for the boy she had left. Those of love, or so she thought.

But now she was split between two choices once again, this time between Ash, who was there for her in the past, and Altaïr, who was there for her in the present.

"Are you ok, May? You've kind of had a blank stare on your face…" Dawn looked inquisitively into May's face.

May then looked at the younger coordinator that stood before her who had a look of curiosity on her face.

_"So this i__s the person that Ash has trave__led with for the past few years… she seems… nice enough… so __what if Ash…"_

"Oh, I'm fine, I was just, thinking back to something." May replied as normally as possible, but Dawn seemed to have detected something in her voice as her eyebrows raised, but she said nothing of it.

_"What if Ash finally began to notice girls during his time with Dawn? What if I've lost my chance__…__ I mean from his response to __Altaïr__'s__ questions, it seems like he really __didn't__ want to say something. What if he didn't want to say something to __Altaïr__ because they were all trave__ling together?"_

What if, what if, what if. A thousand and one questions arose from those simple two words, and May could not stop saying that phrase in her head. She focused her eyes back onto Dawn, who was still studying May's face.

_"If… Ash has fallen for her… __it's__ not his fault. __It's__ my own fault. __So__ I shouldn't hold any hard feelings against her… Ash __wouldn't__ want that. I wouldn't want that."_

May finally exited the bowels of her thoughts and returned to the meeting at hand. She smiled at Dawn sweetly, almost a little too sweetly, and asked if Dawn wanted to have a drink with her.

"That'll be nice…" Dawn replied carefully, as May was starting to give her strange vibes. May didn't seem to hear the girl's tone as she led the way towards some open stools.

_"At least I haven't lost everything." _May turned around and saw Altaïr sitting alone on a couch and smiled.

------------------

"I'm going down to find her, Brock."

Half an hour had passed after May's initial appearance and appeal round. Ash had been deep in thought ever since she had left the stage, and he had finally made the decision to confront her.

"Are you sure you know the way to the coordinators' area?" questioned Brock, knowing full well that Ash didn't.

"I-… no. But I can find out! C'mon Pikachu."

"Chu!" Pikachu hopped onto his usual post on Ash's right shoulder and Ash began to make his way out of the row.

"Excuse me, pardon me, sorry, coming through."

Brock simply watched the young teenager walk away, thinking to himself, _"He's finally grown up a bit." _He smiled and began tending to Happiny once again, feeding her milk from the bottle he had used with Bonsly.

Within minutes of exiting the stands, Ash was lost. The interior of the stadium was mind-boggling. The many people who could not sit in the stands of the stadium or who had just come inside for a bite populated the giant corridors. The place looked and felt like an airport which lacked terminals, as the areas where they would normally be in an airport were replaced by rows of theater chairs facing giant widescreens broadcasting the competition live. The number 60,000 merely gave the number of seats in the main stadium, as the entire contest hall could hold thousands more.

"So, do you have any idea we should go, Pikachu?"

"Pi…" Pikachu was as confused as his trainer.

Ash began to feel lost not only inside the contest hall, but inside his heart. A single memory of the past returned to him.

* * *

_"She's… really leaving.__"_

Ash stood silently with Brock as they both waved at two figures and four Pokémon standing on a boat that was leaving the docks they stood on. The sunset shined a brilliant orange in the background as the boat began to sail further away, but despite the distance, Ash could still see the two figures' faces clearly.

Ash began to feel a single tear drop from his eye, and wiped it away quickly, not wanting the two figures on the boat or Brock to see him like that. He stared intently at the taller figure, and made eye contact with her. Her eyes seemed to water as she gazed back into his eyes, but the image became fuzzy as the boat was now a considerable distance away. Both sides stopped waving, but Ash and the girl continued to stare at one another, not wanting to take their eyes off each other, even if they could barely see each other now. Finally, after what seemed like an hour, the boat was out of sight.

_"She's… really gone."_

------------------

_"I'm… really leaving him."_

May felt her eyes strain as she tried to get one last good look at the boy that was now fading into the distance. Her eyes were watering as well, but she maintained her composure as she didn't want her little brother, Max, to see her crying at that moment.

_"I know he's dense about love and all… but is this really the right decision?"_

The coordinator could no longer even see the dock which the boy she was watching stood on, and finally resigned. She recalled all her Pokémon and led her brother off the deck and into the main compartments.

"Well, I'm pretty tired now sis, I think I'm going to find a place to take a nap." With that, Max left her alone in the area where they had been, which happened to be the cafeteria.

May watched as her brother walked away, and sighed as she went to find a seat at a table. She was feeling tired as well, so she bent forward let her arms and body rest on the table.

_"Is leaving him the right decision?" _she asked herself again. She knew she wanted to compete against her rivals in the Johto region contests, but her main motive was that of a much more emotional nature.

The girl began to shut her eyes as fatigue began to envelop her, but before she lost consciousness, the song that had been playing in the cafeteria from a radio channel finally entered her head. The song was almost over, but the last few words of it rang in her ears.

_I said maybe __You're __gonna__ be the one who saves me __And after all__You're my __wonderwall__Said maybe __You're __gonna__ be the one that saves me __You're __gonna__ be the one that saves me __You're __gonna__ be the one that saves me_

_"Ash has saved me so many times, not just from danger, but from myself. I don't know what I would be today without him…"_

May felt herself slip into unconsciousness.

_"Is he my… __wonderwall__?"_

And with those final thoughts, May fell into a deep slumber.

--------------------

_"I'm confused."_

_I said maybe_

_"Why__ do__ I feel like this?"_

_You're __gonna__ be the one that saves me_

_"It feels like I'm missing something now, with her gone."_

_And after all_

_"Is something wrong with me? Am I sick?"_

_You're__ my __wonderwall_

_"Or is it something else?"_

_Said maybe_

_"I'm tired."_

_You're __gonna__ be the one that saves me _

_"__Hm__, this is a nice song."_

_You're __gonna__ be the one that saves me _

_"Save… I've saved so many people now that I think about it."_

_You're __gonna__ be the one that saves me _

_"Like… May…"_

The song ended, Ash fell asleep, and Brock turned off the radio. He looked at the young boy, and smiled while saying to himself, "I think he got something out of that."

* * *

"I still don't understand those feelings, Pikachu, but that doesn't matter. Only one thing matters." Ash clenched his fists and shut his eyes tightly, feeling his chest swell.

"Pi?"

"I don't want her to leave me again."

-------------------

**Afterthought**

Can you all guess the song now? If not, Google and YouTube are your friends.

Pretty flashbacky chapter, but I like flashbacks. )


	14. Blinding

**Foreword**

Short chapter this time, sorry, but I have a consolation for you all! (Check my main page)

This chapter only deals with Altaïr's appeal round.

--------------------

**Chapter 14 – ****Blinding**

"Altaïr, on deck."

Altaïr opened his closed eyes as he was awoken from his light nap on one of the couches. He grumbled, saying something about how he was in no mood to move, and shut his eyes again. He still had a few minutes until the preceding coordinator would be done and he would have to move.

"Altaïr, you're up."

The teenager snapped his eyes back open after what seemed like a couple seconds of being called on deck. He grumbled to himself once again and dragged himself towards the stage entrance, and forced himself to go through the double steel doors.

_"Never a moment's respite."_

Natural light soon entered the teen's eyes as the midday sun shined brightly above the stadium. His black eyes soon adjusted and the sight of the immense crowd came into view. He continued down the marked path to the stage while the audience cheered.

"Now up next is Altaïr, whose origin is apparently from the high mountaintop of Mt. Coronet. This is also his first contest, as he is a new coordinator, so let's all give him a great big hand."

"I'm not a coordinator, and I don't need a great big hand," Altaïr said to the air, as the crowd's noise was overpowering.

When he finally made it to the stage, the audience finally died down and waited intently for the round to begin, which brought a reprieve to Altaïr's ears.

"Alright Altaïr, you have three minutes, starting… now!"

Still wearing his backpack, Altaïr swiftly brought his hands to the single strap and pressed the buttons of his teal and green Pokéballs. The Pokéballs immediately opened with a flash of white light, as Altaïr had neglected to use ball capsules or seals on his special Pokéballs, and revealed his Glaceon and Leafeon who simply appeared on the ground, standing motionless.

"And that… lacking… entrance may cost Altaïr some points. Probably just a case of stage fright that caused him to forget to do something as elementary as that. This _is_ his first contest."

Altaïr scowled as the MC talked about him as if he weren't there, and continued to stand motionless with his Pokémon, letting them prepare themselves.

The crowd began to pick up in volume as they muttered to one another, wondering why the strange teenager was just standing there and not giving any commands while the clock was ticking down.

Suddenly, Altaïr's two Pokémon sprang into action as the clock showed two minutes and thirty seconds remaining. Glaceon and Leafeon both sprinted to the opposite ends of the circular and spun to face each other. Without needing their trainer to utter a single word, the two fox-like Pokémon performed their prepared appeal.

Glaceon was the first to move. He took off from his side of the stage and began to sprint with great speed towards the center of the stage while shooting a trail of ice in front of his path from the cap endings of his head. At the very center of the stage, Glaceon then quickly changed the direction of his Ice Beam so it created a vertical ramp of ice. He then stopped firing the beam and allowed himself to slide on the ice path and straight up the vertical ramp, which launched him into the air. From the tremendous speed he had gained from running on the ice, the Fresh Snow Pokémon gained an altitude of a couple hundred meters.

While Glaceon performed his actions, Leafeon stood patiently on her side of the stage while her partner did his thing.

As Glaceon reached the peak of his launch, he then began to spin with immense speed while his cap endings glowed the usual teal color when he released an ice attack from that part of his body. The spinning allowed Pokémon to levitate long enough so he could encase his own body in a block of solid ice, much like he did during his battle with Pikachu, only this time the block seemed to have a geometric shape and Glaceon was airborne. As the ice block completed, unknown forces held by Glaceon kept it levitating in place.

It was now Leafeon's turn to act. She sprinted towards the center of the stage with the same agility as Glaceon and jumped onto the very tip of the vertical ice ramp left behind by Glaceon. The Verdant Pokémon balanced herself gracefully on her four feet and simply stood there. Several seconds of inactivity passed until a wind began to pick up in the stadium. Mesmerized by what was going on, the audience took no notice. Leaves than began to blow into the stadium, towards Leafeon. The leaves gathered under the Pokémon, and soon, the leaves were great enough in density to support the weight of their passenger. Using her own unique powers, Leafeon allowed the leaf platform to rise.

After the platform and Pokémon had risen several meters above the tip of the ramp, it halted. At that, all activity from Glaceon, who was frozen in ice, and Leafeon, who simply sat down on her platform of leaves, ceased.

Several more seconds passed and the timer read two minutes remaining. The crowd picked up in volume once again as the spectators talked amongst each other of the strange behavior of the teenager and his Pokémon. Altaïr took no heed of the noise that surrounded him and continued staring at the scene before him with an emotionless stare.

A minute and thirty seconds remained on the clock and Glaeon and Leafeon continued to remain in their places. Some of the audience had begun yelling jeers and insults at Altaïr but they were unheard as his blank stare seemed to possess him and drown out the world.

More seconds passed until Leafeon suddenly jerked into a standing position on her four feet and looked straight up into the clouds that now blotted out the afternoon sun above. The audience looked up as well and was largely surprised at the clouds that seemed to spontaneously appear.

As if someone had flicked a switch, the daylight seemed to be sucked out of the stadium and it became nearly pitch black except for one glowing object in the very center. That object was Leafeon, who now held an aura of bright yellow light around her small body. The spectators seemed to be stunned at the strange manifestation before them, and not a sound was heard. Even the inside of the stadium was deathly quiet as the lights inside had seemed to turn off as well.

Suddenly, the light quickly intensified and Leafeon's body was veiled in a ball of light. The ball of light became distorted and then calmed into a ball once again. Then, the ball suddenly seemed to burst at the top as a thick beam of light shot up and soared straight at the ice block that contained Glaceon. Instead of shattering the block, however, the beam of light entered the block and split into many smaller beams by the inner patterns of the block, and permeated from the sides into six smaller beams. The beams created a spectacular light show, but Altaïr and his Pokémon were not finished yet.

Six more ice blocks materialized out of thin air in the paths of the six smaller light beams. The beams entered these ice segments as well but were instead bent downwards and at an angle towards the original source of the light; Leafeon.

The audience stared in awe at the beams of light that created a sort of inverted pyramid-like shape. May and Dawn, who watched from a screen inside the staging room, allowed their jaws to drop as they watched the entire process from when Glaceon formed the ice block with his own body to now when the lights formed their pattern. There was one more step to be done.

A soft rumble could be heard in the deathly silence of the stadium, and it increased in volume as the time slowly ticked to its end. Fifteen seconds remained as the sound grew in intensity, and at five seconds, the most astonishing part of the appeal took place.

Every ice block created by Glaceon seemed to shake until they finally exploded, sending shards of ice in every direction from each of the ice pieces. However, instead of the pieces flying into the crowd below, the shards seemed to stop in a stasis after they traveled a few meters away from their core. The shards weren't the most interesting part of these last few seconds, but rather what was revealed from the blast.

Glaceon's body levitated where it had been since he froze himself within his ice, and glowed a beautiful bluish gold color. Everyone watching took a sharp intake of breath at the divine scene in front of them.

The bell then rang, signaling the end of Altaïr's three minutes. MC Brian said nothing, being stunned from the appeal. Glaceon and Leafeon slowly dropped to the ground from their levitations, and walked calmly towards their trainer. Glaceon had returned to his normal teal color by the time he and Leafeon reached Altaïr.

"Good job."

Glaceon and Leafeon said their names in acknowledgement as the red beams of their Pokéballs claimed their bodies.

The clouds had vanished and the sunlight reappeared. The audience took no notice as they sat silently, gaping at the mysterious teenager that stood on the stage below. As if he knew which of the hundreds of cameras was currently focused on him, Altaïr turned his head and looked straight into the one camera that was on him. May and Dawn still sat dumbly with their jaws hanging as they watched him stare straight at them. They could have sworn he cracked a small smile.

--------------------

**Afterthought**

Well, that was quite a tough write. It overall wasn't that difficult to write, but finding the right words is sometimes the hardest part. Yay for thesauri.

Hopefully the appeal wasn't too complicated to understand either. If it is, I'll gladly provide some sort of visual aid if requested by enough people.


	15. Enigma

**Foreword**

Time for Dawn's appeal. Hopefully I haven't lost any of my touch after not writing for a relatively long time.

--------------------

**Chapter 15 – ****Enigma**

"What do you mean I can't enter?!"

"That's the rules, kid. It's just a security measure due to the number of contestants present. You can see your friend when the contest ends for the day, or if she decides to exit the staging room."

However, the disgruntled trainer that stood before the security guard was not ready to give up. He would do whatever he could in order to enter those large doors behind the guard, as long as it was legal. Finally, the teenaged boy thought of a brilliant plan.

"Hey, what's that over there?" Ash said with feigned look of shock while pointing down the hallway to the left of the guard. Pikachu followed in suite by pointing as well, but in the opposite direction. The guard just gave the boy and Pokémon a look of "Do I look that stupid to you?" and pointed down the hallway they had come from, signaling for them to leave.

"Well, that… wasn't such a great plan on my part." Ash hung his head in defeat.

"Pikapi…" Pikachu patted the back of his trainer's head for reassurance.

"Guess we'll just have to wait until later," said Ash as he walked away with disappointment.

--------------------

The large double steel doors parted and allowed Altaïr to enter the staging area. Like after May's appeal, every coordinator turned to look at the boy, but instead of applause welcoming the boy as he entered, and eerie silence was all that he got. It was difficult to tell whether the other coordinators were just amazed by his appeal, or if they were somewhat frightened of what they had just witnessed. It wasn't every day they saw seemingly ordinary Pokémon changing the weather and absorbing the light out of the air.

Altaïr ignored the awkward stares, however, and simply walked back to the couch he had been napping on earlier to continue what he had been doing. He could hear whispers of other coordinators gossiping about him but he didn't care. He hadn't had much sleep the past few days, and now was as good as time as any to get it.

Dawn and May sat on their stools at the juice bar and watched the whole scene from afar. Dawn, who had viewed a glimpse of Altaïr's ability before, was not as overwhelmed as the others were, unlike May. The older coordinator was caught completely off guard by the boy's strange abilities, and could not stop gaping at him from across the room. Dawn noticed these glances but said nothing of them. They only attributed to her growing opinion of the strange actions of the girl.

"Dawn, on deck," the PA then announced, disrupting the silence of the staging room. The other coordinators snapped out of their trances and then resumed their own activities, trying to forget about the new coordinator.

Dawn turned her head to face May again and noticed a look of what seemed to be fright on her face. Knowing full well what her new acquaintance was thinking, she placed her hand on May's shoulder as a kind gesture. The anxious look left May's face as she felt Dawn's hand and turned to face Dawn. Dawn only had a few, but meaningful words to say.

"Just do your best and believe in yourself. That's what somebody always tells me"

May's mouth opened as if she was going to say something, but she instead closed it and gave Dawn a simple nod.

"Calling Dawn on stage."

May felt Dawn's hand leave her shoulder as Dawn rose from her seat and walked towards the doors that would lead her to the stage. May looked Dawn, then at Altaïr who had resumed his nap, then turned her stool around to face the bartender and ordered a drink.

--------------------

"Now, please welcome Dawn, from Twinleaf Town!" The crowd exploded once again with cheers and applause. It seemed like the audience of the contest had a limitless reserve of energy as they always showed as much enthusiasm for every coordinator that came on stage. "Dawn here is an experienced coordinator, as many of you may recognize her from several official contests that have been held recently in the Sinnoh Region. Let's see what she has in store for us today!"

Dawn shut her eyes as she held two Pokéballs in both of her hands, preparing herself for the important appeal that was to take place. She then flung the two Pokéballs high into the air with grace and they opened with dazzling effects. The first opened with a splashing wave effect that revealed Dawn's Piplup, who spun elegantly in the air and then stuck the landing. The second exploded with flashes of lightning as a squirrel-like emerged from the light and gave several cute poses.

"Piplup!" said the blue penguin Pokémon proudly.

"Pachi!" the little EleSquirrel Pokémon said excitedly.

"Alright, let's do this Piplup, Pachirisu!

Dawn's two Pokémon nodded in affirmation and proceeded to take positions at opposite ends of the stage, shouting out their names to confirm that they were ready to their trainer.

"Alright, Piplup, Bubblebeam! Pachirisu, Sweet Kiss!" ordered Dawn.

The two small Pokémon leapt high into the air and pirouetted once before performing their attacks in the direction of each other.

"Pip-pip-pip-pip-pip!" chanted Piplup as he released a stream of bubbles from his beak.

"Pachi pachi pachi!" squeaked Pachirisu while kissing her hands and letting hearts fly towards the bubbles.

The two attacks hurtled into the center of the field and made contact with one another. The hearts from Pachirisu's Sweet Kiss attack entered into the bubbles of Piplup's Bubblebeam, which halted the momentum of both attacks and allowed the hearts to float up into the air inside the bubbles. The two Pokémon both fired another volley of attacks and the same situation occurred once again. The two waves of heart-bubbles continued to fly higher into the air until they stopped at the top of the stadium.

"Now!" commanded Dawn. "Piplup, use Whirlpool!"

The Penguin Pokémon summoned all his energy and launched himself as high as he could into the air. Piplup then extended his body straight and pointed his beak into the air as his body began to glow white. After several seconds of charging energy, Piplup opened his beak and an enormous whirlpool was fired out of it.

Dawn knew she had to act fast before Piplup reached the peak of his jump and fell back towards the stage.

"Pachirisu, your turn! Jump into the whirlpool!" she shouted.

The EleSquirrel Pokémon stopped her dancing on the stage before launching herself into the air as Piplup had but with more force so she could enter the whirlpool from the bottom. The current of the whirlpool sucked Pachirisu in and she squealed in joy as the whirlpool spun her around.

"Alright Piplup, let go of the whirlpool!" Dawn yelled with her hands cupped at her mouth.

"Pip!" the water type managed to say through a beak full of water. Piplup shut his beak, which detached the whirlpool from himself and he fell towards the ground while the whirlpool containing Pachirisu continued to rise higher.

"Now Pachirisu, Discharge!"

"Paaaaaaaa…" Pachirisu yelled through the whirlpool. Dawn crossed her fingers as she hoped her appeal would work as planned.

"CHIIIIIIII!" screamed the little electric type as she released electricity in every direction. The current of the whirlpool redirected the sporadic electricity upwards and spun it in the same direction. Pachirisu exited the whirlpool through the vertex at which the whirlpool spun at, and the rest of the plan was up to nature.

The fusion of spinning water and electricity rose higher and began to flatten out of its funnel shape as it neared the bubble-hearts. Eventually, the whirlpool was no longer a funnel shape but instead a large disc shape of spinning water and electricity. The newly formed disc continued to ascend until it was right below the bubble-hearts. Dawn was now praying that nothing would go wrong with her eyes squeezed shut.

Suddenly, the spinning disc of water and electricity lost its rotation and instantly dispersed, causing the elements to fly in every direction. The audience looked with awe as the water and electricity that was projected upwards collided with the heart-bubbles, causing the bubbles to pop. The hearts remained intact as they dropped towards the earth while the bubbles added to the rain of the dispersed whirlpool. The remaining electricity diffused into the air while the rain fell onto the stadium, causing a light shower over the spectators while refreshing them from the warm weather at the same time. Dawn breathed a giant sigh of relief.

The bell then rang, signaling the end of the allotted three minutes.

"What a spectacular and refreshing appeal! Who knew a combination of water and electricity could combine so well together! I definitely see this young talented coordinator making it to the next round!"

Dawn smiled brightly as the MC said those words, and began curtseying in every direction. When she had finished, she felt her two Pokémon jump into her arms and laughed as she cuddled with them.

Ash, Brock, Pikachu, and Happiny cheered until their throats went hoarse from their seats high in the stadium.

May smiled at the big screen that displayed the joyous coordinator who she had just recently met.

Altaïr watched another screen through his left eye, as he had been sneaking glances at the appeal while pretending to be asleep. He simply nodded slowly.

--------------------

"Good job, Dawn!" chirped a cheerful voice from behind Dawn.

Dawn, who had just re-entered the staging room, spun around and saw that May smiled at her with a bright expression.

"Thanks…" Dawn said rather distractedly. Now that the adrenaline of being on stage was gone, the younger coordinator felt somewhat melancholy, but didn't know the reason why. May's expression changed to a puzzled one, which indicated she noticed Dawn's changed behavior, but she made no attempt to question it.

Dawn then found herself subconsciously scanning the room for a certain individual, but could not manage to find him within the premises. She shrugged once and then put on her cheerful persona as she faced May again.

"Wow, that appeal sure worked up an appetite in me. Want to go get something to eat?" Dawn asked.

May, who was glad to see Dawn return to her normal mood, nodded and gave her an "Or course!"

--------------------

Altaïr opened the door to the men's public dressing rooms and began to scan the area. The trainer had exited the staging room right after Dawn re-entered the room so nobody besides the door guard would notice him. After determining that he was the only person in the room, Altaïr made his way for the dressing stalls at the far end of the room. He silently turned the knob, entered the stall, and shut the door behind him. Knowing that he didn't have much time, he began to work fast.

The teenaged boy slipped his backpack off his body and unzipped it. He then pulled out an electronic device that looked like a highly advanced personal digital assistant. Altaïr ceased his activities as he listened for any sign of life in the dressing room for several seconds before continuing with his business.

The PDA was booted up and a screen displaying the letters "PDI" that rotated in front of an insignia in the background. Then a menu appeared and Altaïr began to use his finger to navigate the touch screen. Eventually he ended up in a mailbox, which held a single message with a topic displaying "Shipment Received." Altaïr touched the message topic with his index finger and read the message embedded within it.

_Shipment received; pick up at Mason's Pawnshop at 5__th__ Street __and __Marbury__Street __in the Downtown Sector._

The teenaged boy nodded at the message and exited the mailbox. He then operated the PDA and opened a menu named "Intelligence." After accessing several more menus, he ended up in a folder called "Maps." Altaïr touched the screen to access the files and made a selection of the map for "Beacon Tower." The PDA then began to beep and suddenly a 3D hologram of a building was projected out from the screen. Altaïr held the PDA parallel to the ground and studied the hologram for a minute before finally shutting off the PDA. He exited the dressing room and made his way out of the stadium to pick up his delivery.

--------------------

**Afterthought**

Enigmatic? A bit. That pretty much explains the chapter title.


	16. Directed Business

**Foreword**

Well, maybe this chapter will explain some of the enigma.

-------------------

**Chapter 16 – ****Directed**** Business**

Light Tower stood majestically at where the business sector and the downtown sector met with its bells tolling a single time to indicate that the time was 1 pm. Almost directly above Light Tower, the sun blazed down upon the heads of walking pedestrians and made the air stuffy. However, one traveler ignored the waves of heat as he walked briskly while gently pushing slower pedestrians aside to get through.

The dark, untidy haired boy slipped sideways between two portly gentlemen and kept his black eyes staring straight ahead so he could foresee other human obstacles. Soon, the teenaged boy reached an intersection and instantly began searching for the street signs. He knew he was already on 5th Street and supposedly, the street he had just reached was Marbury Street. The green sign he was searching for confirmed that he was in the correct area.

The teenaged boy then began moving down Marbury Street and eyed the buildings on both sides of the street until he saw the word "Mason's Pawnshop" in the distance. He picked up his pace and continued to gently shove people out of his way.

A bell rang as the boy opened the door into the shabby building with bars on its windows. The air smelled musty and the interior was dim. Many different items of varying value, ranging from simple china to large statues occupied much of the space. The boy also noticed many paintings, electronics, and other random items littering the room. At the end of the cramped room was an unoccupied counter. The teenager moved silently to the counter and rung the bell that sat on it.

"I'll be right there," a gruff voice shouted through a door off to the side.

Within the minute, a man with a head and face full of hair entered from the door. The man had long brownish-blond hair that flowed onto his shoulders and a long beard and mustache of the same color. As the man came closer to the boy, his face brightened with surprise.

"Mr. Altaïr, it's-it's been a while!" the man smiled and held a hand out.

"Likewise Mason," Altaïr said plainly while shaking the shop owner's hand. "And drop the mister, please," he added with a smile.

"I suppose you're here for your goods?" Mason questioned as he knelt down behind the counter and rummaged through objects that were unseen to Altaïr.

"You know it."

"Well, here they are." Mason reappeared from under the counter with a suitcase and a lumpy package bundled in plain brown wrapping paper. "Oh, and this too," he added while reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small electronic chip.

"I suppose that goes into something you've already got?"

"Yeah, thanks," said Altaïr without a change in his tone. He took the chip from Mason's hand and slipped it into his own pocket, and then pulled the suitcase and bundle towards him.

"Your six-inchers, as you requested," said Mason as Altaïr began to work the buckle on the suitcase. Altaïr then stopped with what he was doing as Mason gave him that information and simply nodded.

"And black, like you said, also," added the shop owner while pointing to the lumpy bundle.

"Then my business here is done. Thank you." Altaïr held the suitcase in his left hand and tucked the bundle under his right arm, then made his way for the entrance.

"And you be careful out there, Altaïr," called Mason as Altaïr reached for the doorknob.

"You know me, I always know what I'm doing," Altaïr said without turning back. He turned the doorknob and walked out onto the bright streets.

--------------------

"Wow, I haven't eaten something that hasn't been cooked by Brock in a while," said a blue-haired girl as she walked next to her brunette companion. The two were now walking down the streets around the stadium, searching for a convenient place to eat.

"Brock… I haven't seen him, or Ash… in such a long time…" May said quietly.

"Hey, you know what? We should go see them right now! I'll just call Ash's PokéNav and we'll all meet someplace. Oh I bet Ash and Brock will be so surprised to see you! Well, maybe not, since you were the first contestant out there today, but still!" Dawn's face was full of excitement as she habitually reached for her backpack only to realize it was still in her locker at the dressing room.

"Uh, well, that's ok… it may be pretty tough to find them in this giant place, anyway. We can always meet up with them later. Let's just… find Altaïr and grab a quick bite." May smiled as innocently as she could, hoping Dawn would not see through her ruse.

"Oh, that works too I guess. I would have thought you wanted to see Ash though."

May made a small spasm at that, but Dawn was not facing her so therefore her action went unnoticed.

_"Why did she mention only Ash?" _May thought to herself. "_Does she-Does she __know__?"_

The brunette shook off her thoughts, attributing them to her hunger. "Well, I sure am starved, how does that place look?" May pointed at a small shop with the words "Nick's Quick Licks" above.

"That sounds like a-hey wait, isn't that Altaïr on the other side of the street?" Dawn said while pointing as well.

May's heartbeat quickened at hearing that name, and she turned her view in the direction Dawn was pointing. She squinted to find the boy's figure amidst the pedestrians, and soon identified his longish scraggly hair.

"Yeah, I think that is him." The coordinator then noticed that both his hands were occupied with two objects. "What's he carrying?" she added.

"Hmm, it looks like he's carrying a suitcase in one hand… I can't make out the other though. Let's call him over and ask him." Dawn brought her hands to her mouth and cupped them. "HEY, ALT-." But before she could finish his name, he had vanished into the large crowd of the stadium square.

--------------------

"Man, I'm starved! Aren't you, Pikachu?" said a black-haired, capped trainer as he and his companions walked through a large crowd of commuting tourists that were outside of the stadium.

"Pika!" The little Mouse Pokémon patted his stomach as it growled.

"Ash, don't you think we should call Dawn? Maybe we could meet up with her for lunch… and maybe someone else will be with her as well." Brock began patting himself on the back for concocting such a perfect plan on the spot.

The starving trainer abruptly stopped his gait and looked down sadly at his stomach. Then he turned back and looked at Brock.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," he said while reaching into his pocket for his PokéNav. Quickly working the device, Ash selected Dawn's name from a list and soon heard ringing through the speaker. However, after several seconds of unanswered ringing, the voice mailbox activated which then Ash hung up.

"Guess she doesn't have her PokéNav with her. Well, I'm about to die from hunger now, so let's just find a…" Ash stopped midsentence as he looked blankly through the crowd.

"Pika?" Pikachu's ears stood straight up as he looked in the same direction as his trainer.

"Uh, what's got your tongue, Ash?" questioned the breeder.

"Huh? What?" Ash shook his head violently before zoning back in. "Oh um, I thought I saw Altaïr… and he was carrying a suitcase and something else…"

"Really?" Brock squinted his already squinty eyes to scan the wave of people in the direction Ash had looked. "I don't see him. Either you're hallucinating from hunger, or he's already gone." Brock slapped the younger male's back jokingly.

"Yeah… maybe…"

--------------------

_"Let's see what we__'ve__ got here."_

Altaïr was now sitting on a toilet in a bathroom stall with his PDA in his hand while his packages and backpack sat on the ground. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the chip that Mason had given him. Altaïr held the chip close to his face and examined it closely, before then holding up his PDA as well and sliding the chip into a slot on the side.

The PDA made several electronic noises which then a prompt asking whether the user wanted to open the external device appeared. Altaïr selected "Yes" and instantly a plain white screen with black words appeared before him.

_Mission update for Operative D-091_

_High priority target to appear at restaurant "Five Crown's Palace" at 1800.__Mission objective to perform surveillance on target and report intelligence immediately.__ Maintain primary mission profile and do not jeopardize primary mission objective. _

_Details on target…_

The bathroom door suddenly opened which caused Altaïr to jump. He quickly shut off his PDA and packed all his belongings together, and then waited for the second occupant of the restroom to exit. When he heard the footsteps leave through the door, he opened his own stall door and quickly made his way out.

Altaïr swiftly made his way to the dressing room, then to his locker, and stuffed his new assets into the locker. When he had finished, he walked back into the hallways and made his way to the staging area. The teenaged boy then felt fatigue overtake his body, which signaled it was time he takes another nap on a couch.

_"I'll need the rest."_

-------------------

"And with that final appeal, the judges will now select 32 coordinators to move on into the next double-battle rounds, who will then fight for a place in the top 16! The selection process will take about a half hour, so do what y'all need to do, and be back for when we announce the first 32 finalists!"

The time was 4 in the afternoon, and Altaïr opened his eyes wide open as he heard the final part of MC Brian's announcement.

_"Three __hours__, that'll do."_

The teenaged boy pulled himself off the couch and tasted a rancid flavor in his mouth. He decided that he needed a good drink, which lead him to walk over to the bar to order up a drink of strawberry flavor. Altaïr slowly sipped his delicate drink as he watched highlights from the appeal round on a large flat screen that hung above the bar.

After a minute or so of watching, a strange ringing noise emitted from behind him. Altaïr ignored the sound at first, but as the ringing continued, he realized where the source of the sound was coming from. The teenager quickly jumped off his stool and walked briskly to a corner of the room, where he swung his backpack off and pulled out a ringing PDA. He then grabbed a pair of earphones from the inside of his backpack and plugged them into the PDA, before touching the words "Accept Call" on the screen of his PDA. The ringing box that occupied his screen disappeared as the face of a bald, rugged looking man who was in his senior years appeared.

"ALTAIR, WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN DOING!" screamed the man. Luckily, Altaïr had plugged in the earphones so the entire room wouldn't hear the man yelling, but that didn't prevent his eardrums from almost bursting.

"Damn! You don't have to yell so loudly, man."

"Don't you call me "man," you pompous punk!" the man's face began turning red.

"Hey, I'm not exactly your 'Operatives,' alright? I'll call you whatever I want, but if you're gonna cry over it, I'll just call you what you are, happy Director?" Altaïr gave a sardonic grin at the man in the small screen.

"Cut the glib attitude, kid. You know that if you're contacted on a mission, then you've screwed up bad. Can you guess what you've done this time?"

"Probably, but I don't really care. Every time I've 'screwed' up, I seem to complete my tasks without any sort of problems, and sometimes even do more than I'm expected to. So what's the problem this time," Altaïr said with boredom.

"Don't get so cocky, boy. What the hell do you think you're doing in a heavily broadcasted… Pokémon contest?! You know how important keeping a low profile is!"

"Hm, how do you know I'm in a contest? I thought it was for security and low profile measures that only one 'Operative' is to work in a designated area. And for the contest being broadcasted, it's only being broadcasted in Lightcrown. Do you have me tailed again?" Altaïr now gave an annoyed look at the Director.

"No, I don't have you tailed _this_ time, but we do monitor all television feeds to every corner of the Sinnoh region, so naturally we found you prancing around in this little contest of yours. Mind telling me what you think you're doing?" The Director's face had lost some of its flush and he was now speaking in a more controlled tone.

"Ah, well, I was a little bored in this city. I mean it's not the first time I've been here. Needed to have a little bit of fun, eh?" Altaïr shrugged innocently.

"As arrogant and cocky as always," the Director said exasperatedly while leaning his forehead on a hand. "Well, we can't reverse any of the actions you've done, so all we can do now is hope you haven't been noticed by either of the gangs."

Altaïr then gave a sheepish chuckle. "Heh, about that…"

"Argh! I don't want to hear it anymore. Just don't screw up." The Director's face disappeared with a beep from Altaïr's.

"Oh, I won't."

--------------------

**Afterthought**

_Now _the plot's really coming along, eh?

Well, the title's sort of a pun, with the Director and all the Business that's going on.


	17. Double Edged

**Foreword**

Whew, it's been a while.

First contest battle here, though truthfully, it's not much different than any old battle. Enjoy.

------------------

**Chapter 17 – ****Double Edged**

"Well, after much deliberation by our judges, we have now narrowed the field down to the 32 coordinators that will move on to the double contest battle round. The results should be showing on the screens at the top of the stadium in a few moments now."

Every head in the stadium was turned upwards as the entire audience looked up at the large screens posted at the top of the stadium, anxiously waiting to see if their favorite coordinators would make it. Inside the staging room, the air became suddenly still as every coordinator in the room held his or her breath.

Then, with a blink, the screens that had been broadcasting the contest throughout the day showed a tournament bracket with portraits of the coordinators that had passed into the next round.

"And with that, the next preliminary battle round will begin immediately, starting with the two coordinators at the farthest left of the bracket."

In the staging room, Dawn and May were both shocked, and not because that they had both made it to the next round, but because Dawn was to battle a highly acclaimed coordinator named Geoffrey in the very first battle, and May was to battle Altaïr in the very last.

The two girls stared at each other with large eyes until Dawn broke the eye contact when she spotted Geoffrey passing behind May, who shot a sinister grin to the blue-haired coordinator. Geoffrey had performed an extraordinary appeal by coordinating Dragon Dances complete with background music with his Altaria and Dragonair. Geoffrey himself was a flamboyant young man with the form and appearance of a dancer. His slick black hair that was parted to the side and his tight black vest and pants may cause people to question his masculinity and Pokémon battling skills, but Dawn had seen a tremendous amount of power and skill in his appeal to know he would not be an easy opponent. She assumed that he would most likely go with his two disclosed Dragon-types, so she would have to use Buneary for her Ice Beam attack. Dawn decided that she would have to use her overall best fighter, Buizel, to help in the battle in whatever way he could, though Water-type attacks are weak against Dragon-types.

May, who was now staring into blank space, felt a chill crawl down her spine as the thought of battling Altaïr plagued her mind. She could not oust the images of the trainer and his Eevee-evolutions completely annihilating everything she could throw out, even though May had not witnessed the battle between Altaïr and Ash. Panic and angst began to overtake the coordinator as the images continued.

"Dawn and Geoffrey, please head for the stage entrance for the first battle," announced the familiar PA voice.

Dawn then summoned as much determination and focus for the ensuing battle before giving one last look at May, and then headed for the large sliding doors of the stage entrance. But determination and focus alone wouldn't win the battle for her. She would need some luck, and perhaps some wisdom.

Geoffrey was already waiting by the door by the time Dawn got there, and with a graceful flick of his wrist, he allowed her to pass through the door first.

"Ladies first, of course," Geoffrey said in his somewhat high pitched voice.

Dawn ignored the mocking tone in his voice and strode past the male coordinator, mind completely focused on the battle to come.

As Dawn and Geoffrey stepped into the sunlight, the crowd exploded, as usual, at the sight of the two coordinators. They continued to walk and wave until they reached the circular stage, which now had a battling field on it, and made their way for opposite ends of the field. MC Brian began his introduction for the battle.

"And here is our first battle for this afternoon! In the red box, we have Geoffrey, the well known Master of Dance from the Johto Region! And in the green box, we have Dawn, the young coordinator from Twinleaf Town that has proven herself worthy in contests pasts! You all know the rules of contest battles, so coordinators, prepare your Pokéballs!"

Dawn instinctively reached for Buneary and Buizel's Pokéballs and grabbed one in each hand. Geoffrey, on the other end, tossed two of his own Pokéballs into the air and balanced both of them on his index fingers when they fell back down. The crowd Ooo'd at his display while Geoffrey just gave another smirk.

"Alright, choose your Pokémon now, and let the battle begin!"

"Altaria, Dragonair, show time!" said Geoffrey as he tossed his Pokéballs off his fingertips.

"Buneary, Buizel, spotlight!" Dawn flung her two Pokéballs into the air as well.

On the red side, Geoffrey's two Pokéballs opened up with large bursts of blue light, thanks to the ball capsules that he used, and revealed his two Dragon-types.

Dawn's Pokéballs opened up with rainbow designs, revealing her Buizel and her…

"PIPLUP?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT THERE?!"

"Pip-Piplup?" said the confused Penguin Pokémon.

"And looks like Dawn has decided to go with two Water-type Pokémon against two Dragon-types; an interesting matchup choice on her part. But it's not just type advantages that win battles, so let's see how this battle will turn out!"

A bell sounded and the five minute clock began to run. However, Dawn was still confused on how she managed to grab Piplup's Pokéball instead of Buneary's. She quickly checked the Pokéballs that she had strapped onto her waist and saw that Buneary's Pokéball was still there, but not in its usual spot. The coordinator started cursing at her simple folly.

"Perform Dragon Dance!" yelled a voice from across the field. Dawn snapped back and noticed that the battle had begun. Dragonair and Altaria had already begun dancing gracefully by swirling around and swaying. Dawn knew she had to act fast.

"Buizel, harass them with Aqua Jet and Piplup, slow them down with Bubblebeam!"

Dawn's Buizel nodded once as he quickly picked up speed and was soon airborne with a veil of water around him, charging at the two Dragon-types. Piplup began charging up for a Bubblebeam attack.

"Altaria, Dragonair, perform Safeguard!" commanded Geoffrey. Spheres of glowing blue light appeared around the two Pokémon, protecting them from any slowing affect by Piplup's Bubblebeam. Buizel began slamming into the Dragons with Aqua Jet, but the two Dragons seemed to be largely unaffected by the attack. Piplup's Bubblebeam came into contact soon afterward, but harmlessly bounced off the Safeguard. Dawn's points dropped slightly.

"And what a brilliant move by Geoffrey, using Safeguard to render Piplup's Bubblebeam useless so he can continue to speed up his Pokémon!" The crowd cheered loudly for the male coordinator.

Dawn scowled at Geoffrey's good move, and began thinking up of another plan of attack. Meanwhile, Dragonair and Altaria continued to perform Dragon Dance, which increased their attack power and speed even higher. Geoffrey's points dropped a fraction due to his repeated use of one move.

"Alright, if we can't slow them, we might as well trap them! Piplup, Whirlpool now!" ordered Dawn.

Piplup nodded in acknowledgement as he jumped into the air.

"Pippppp…" said the Penguin Pokémon as he extended his body upwards and turned white.

"Dragonair, perform Outrage!"

Dragonair ceased his dancing and began flying towards the jumping Piplup. Dawn knew an Outrage would be devastating to Piplup, so she had to counter it before it was too late.

"Buizel, give Dragonair a barrage of Sonicbooms, fast!" she yelled out desperately.

"Altaria, perform DragonBreath," said Geoffrey while smirking.

Altaria opened his mouth and a green beam exited his mouth, heading straight for Buizel. Meanwhile, Dragonair was only a few meters away from Piplup.

"Buizel, Aqua Jet into Sonicboom!" cried out Dawn.

Using his great speed, Buizel dodged the incoming DragonBreath with Aqua Jet and flew through the air to intercept the rampaging Dragonair that threatened his teammate. However, with the speed increase of Dragon Dance, Buizel was too late as Dragonair made contact with Piplup and began to thrash him around.

"No! Piplup!" Dawn could only watch in horror as Dragonair tore at her defenseless Pokémon with unreal quickness and power. In the air, Piplup cried out his name in pain as Dragonair continued to damage him.

Dawn's points took another hit as Piplup took the attack. Not knowing exactly what to do, Buizel decided to fire off his Sonicbooms at an unsuspecting Altaria, doing damage to him. Geoffrey's points took a hit as well.

Eventually, the onslaught of Dragonair's Outrage ended, and a severely beat up Piplup hit the ground.

"Pip…lup…" said the Penguin Pokémon weakly as it crawled on the ground.

"Piplup… I'm so sorry…" whispered Dawn softly to herself. She brought out his Pokéball to recall him back, as he looked to be in no condition to continue fighting, but as soon as Piplup saw the Pokéball come out, he jumped onto his feet and puffed up his chest proudly, showing that he still had some fight left in him.

Dawn was thinking about recalling Piplup despite the protest, but as she held the Pokéball out, she remembered Altaïr's words to Ash during their battle.

_"Your Pokémon are the ones that are in the heat of battle, so the Pokémon would know better than anyone what the consequences may be if they make a bad move. With a Pokémon's own instincts, they are the ones that know what the best course of action is, because they are the ones that have done actual battling and have received battle wounds."_

Dawn figured that if Altaïr's Pokémon had the instincts to battle on their own, then her Pokémon would at least have the instincts to know when to keep fighting. She smiled brightly and nodded to Piplup, communicating silently to her starter Pokémon.

"That Outrage attack looked to be devastating!" announced MC Brian. "But Piplup still seems to have some fight left in him. Now the question is, should Dawn still let him in that condition? On the other end, Dragonair looks to be confused after that powerful attack, and Altaria is still recovering from that vicious Sonicboom attack!"

Dawn heard the things MC Brian said, and she began to strategize once again. There was still three and a half minutes left on the clock, plenty of time for her to turn the battle around. Dawn's points were a bit over three quarters while Geoffrey had only lost about one eighth of his points. She knew that she couldn't defeat Geoffrey's Pokémon normally, due to the type disadvantage and the weakened state of Piplup, so she had to find a way to turn the points around, or find another way to do damage.

_"That's it! __Dragonair__ is confused, so if we can make him attack himself, he should cause a lot of damage to himself because of his high attack, and make them lose some points as well!"_

"Alright, Piplup, get a Whirlpool around Altaria to trap him. Buizel, protect Piplup with anything you got; Dragonair is too confused to do anything right now!"

"Altaria, perform DragonBreath to drive them back!" Geoffrey, who had not expected Piplup to survive the Outrage attack, now had no idea what to do.

Altaria opened his mouth once again, letting out the green beam aimed at Piplup, but Buizel skillfully deflected the attack with his Water Gun. Geoffrey's points went down for having his attack countered.

Piplup, now clear of any threats, jumped into the air and began charging up for Whirlpool once again. Several seconds passed, and Piplup finished gathering his energy and unleashed his Whirlpool on Altaria.

The Whirlpool scored a direct hit on Altaria as he finished his DragonBreath attack, trapping the Humming Pokémon in a torrent of water.

"Altaria, perform… perform…" but Geoffrey could only watch on as his Pokémon was thrown around by the spinning water. Geoffrey's points dropped to a point lower than Dawn's.

"Piplup, hold Whirlpool for as long as possible! Buizel, it's your turn. Hit and run Dragonair with Aqua Jet now!"

"Bui!" saluted the Sea Weasel Pokémon. The familiar cloak of water surrounded Buizel as he picked up speed and jumped into the air. Dragonair was still confused from his Outrage attack and was squirming around wildly. Buizel began to prod the Dragon Pokémon with Aqua Jet, and provoked Dragonair to strike back, but due to his confused state, he began to damage himself.

"Dawn seems to have taken control of the battle now, trapping Altaria with Whirlpool and sending Buizel to attack Dragonair so Dragonair would damage himself due to his confusion! What an ingenious strategy thought up on the spot by the young coordinator!" the crowd cheered louder then ever for Dawn.

Buizel continued to poke at Dragonair with a fury of Aqua Jets, causing Dragonair to repeatedly retaliate, only to hit himself due to his confused state. Geoffrey's points lowered further and further all the way to the halfway point. There was only two minutes left on the clock.

"Altaria, Dragonair… perform something!" yelled out Geoffrey in a high pitched voice. He could only watch on as his Pokémon took damage and his points drop.

Eventually, Piplup's Whirlpool began to falter, and the water began to spin more slowly. Soon enough, Piplup dropped to the ground, exhausted, which allowed Altaria to be released from his water prison.

"Alright! Altaria, perform DragonBreath to finish off Piplup!" Geoffrey commanded with renewed vigor.

"Buizel, do what you have to!" said Dawn, taking the words of Altaïr into account once again and putting faith in her Pokémon's natural abilities.

Buizel heard her words and nodded. Dragonair's daze was beginning to wear off, and Buizel noticed that so he began to taunt the Dragon-type. Dragonair was pretty worn out from his own self-beating, but he still had enough to finish off Buizel effortlessly. The arrogant Dragon Pokémon soon became enraged at the small Water-type that had caused him so much pain, and began charging at Buizel with intent on using Outrage without his trainer's order.

Geoffrey observed what was going on from the ground and noticed something very wrong.

"Dragonair! No! Stop!" but his cries were unheard by the rampaging Pokémon.

Buizel could only smirk at the vain Pokémon and began to use Aqua Jet to run away. Dragonair glared at the Sea Weasel Pokémon and picked up speed thanks to his Dragon Dances. The Dragon-type was gaining fast on Buizel, but when it looked like Dragonair was in reach to pulverize Buizel, Buizel quickly swerved to the right, causing Dragonair to slam into the only other thing in the air.

Altaria chirped in surprise as his DragonBreath was interrupted by a collision to his back. Dragonair was unable to stop his Outrage attack since once he was on the road to use it, he could not undo the attack. The two teammates tangled with one another, Altaria taking large amounts of damage from Dragonair's Outrage, and Dragonair becoming even more confused and worn out as he kept on attacking. After about fifteen seconds of the attack, both Dragonair and Altaria fell out of the sky, worn and beat. Due to Dragon-types being weak against their own type, Altaria was instantly knocked out by the powerful attack. Dragonair was just too beat to continue on fighting. The battle was over.

"Amazing! Though at a big disadvantage against Geoffrey's two powerful Dragons, Dawn was able to exploit their weaknesses and use their attacks against themselves. Such tactics deserves a great commendation, don't you agree folks?"

The sounds of cheers and applause by the audience filled up the entire stadium for the victory of Dawn. Dawn herself was stunned at what she had just witnessed, but soon brought herself back together and gracefully bowed in every direction.

"Congratulations on winning Dawn! You will advance to the second rounds of appeals on day two of this contest, where the competition will be tougher than ever! But for now, you and your Pokémon deserve a rest for a job well done!"

Dawn finished her bowing and began to exit the stage while waving to the ecstatic audience. As she made it to the short stairway, she crossed paths with Geoffrey, who gave her a disdainful look, but held out a hand to shake nonetheless.

"G'job," mumbled the disgruntled coordinator.

"Yeah…" replied Dawn, feeling slightly awkward shaking his hand.

"And of course, ladies first," he said while motioning with his hands to let her go down the stairs first.

"Thanks…"

-----------------

**Afterthought**

Well, that was all quite interesting to write. To be honest, the stuff I can write is pretty restricted since Dawn's Pokémon all have pretty small and strange movesets, so it's pretty difficult making something out of the ordinary with that. Hopefully this turned out alright though.

First chapter I've written over 2500 words in a while too.

The chapter title "Double Edged" comes from the cliché, or whatever it's supposed to be called, of the "double edged sword," saying that everything has a consequence… or something to that effect. Anyway, Outrage was definitely a double edged sword here.


	18. Free, Fight, Flee

**Foreword**

Hm, I didn't actually take a whole year to get this chapter out.

On with this little contest saga, though still much to happen and not everything is going to be what you expect.

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**Chapter 18****–****Fear, Fight, Flee**

_"What should I do what should I do what should I do…"_

An extremely nervous brown haired coordinator paced back and forth, ignoring the awkward stares the other coordinators were giving her.

_"Why me… why out of all the coordinators here… why do I have to battle him?"_

The brunette brought her fingers up to mouth and began to gently gnaw on her fingernails.

_"I can't beat him… I just can't. I know I can't__."_

Eventually, the distressed girl ceased her pacing and took a seat on an empty couch.

_"I'm sorry Ash… I guess I just can't show you the progress I've made since I…__ since I left you… to go to Johto… that is, if__ I've even improved at all."_

May buried her face in her hands and sighed deeply, holding back the emotions that were now welling up in her chest.

_"No, no more crying. I'm past all that now… All the contests, Ash, Drew, that's made me stronger now. I can handle feelings like this now…"_

But as she tried to suppress her emotions, images of Ash looking at her with disappointment for losing the battle clouded her mind. A slight sob escaped her throat when she thought about how Ash would react to her loss when they finally met face to face.

Then the thought of Altaïr entered her brain, and the image of him looking at her with his impassive, yet deadly look probed her, sending chills down her spine. But she also felt herself blush while looking at him.

_"__I… I still don't know who my __feelings are for yet… but if I do terribly in this battle… neither __one __of them would__ be interested__…"_

For the first time since she discovered Drew cheating on her, she felt truly alone. There was nobody that could console her at this time, for she could not reveal the feelings she had.

_"I don't know who…"_

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Altaïr sat lazily on his stool while he ordered up another drink. He could feel the strange feeling he always felt before a mission, no matter how small the mission was. The feeling was mostly just a slight tingly feeling in his chest, but it was enough to be noticeable. Some may identify it as anxiety or nervousness, but Altaïr knew that was not what he felt, since he was already used to the activities his side-job included. The feeling the teenaged boy always got was something even he could not comprehend.

But the feeling was unimportant, for the time was 5:45 pm. There was still one battle before Altaïr's battle, so he knew he would not be able to make it since he planned his exit at 5:50, giving him enough time to walk to his destination and perform his job. He would just forfeit the match to May, since the contest really had no significance to him; it was just a little fun game he wanted to play while he passed the time. But now, it was time to get serious.

Altaïr took the last gulp of his drink before turning around on the stool and standing up. He checked the time on one of the flat screens before deciding he should head out a bit earlier. The trainer grabbed his belongings from the floor and began making his way for the door before the PA system sounded.

"Caleb has forfeited the upcoming battle, so Janine wins the match by default. Altaïr and May, please report to the stage entrance for the final match of the day."

The tingly feeling in Altaïr's chest left him as he heard the announcement. Another strange thing about the feeling was that it only occurred before a mission when he was reviewing it; never before, during, or after that time. The thought of the upcoming contest battle intrigued him slightly, as he had never bee in one before, though he figured nothing would really be different. He checked the time again, which showed 5:47. If he hurried with the battle, then made haste for his target, he should be able to make it on time. Besides, Altaïr could use a small warm-up before the events of the coming evening.

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"Caleb has forfeited the upcoming battle, so Janine wins the match by default. Altaïr and May please report to the stage entrance for the final battle."

May snapped to a standing position from here seat on the couch. For the past few hours, the brunette had just been sitting in the same spot since her angst took over her mind.

_"It's time…__"_

May grudgingly moved here stiff legs and made her way for the stage entrance, feeling as though she was walking to her grave.

When the stage doors were in view, she saw the tall figure of a familiar trainer standing with his back leaning on the wall, staring at an upwards angle at seemingly nothing. May felt her nerves tense up as she approached the boy she had found an attraction in but also feared. Altaïr eventually looked down and saw May advancing towards him, but made no reaction to her presence, instead he simply stared into her eyes for a good second before he broke the eye contact.

The stage doors then opened up, allowing Altaïr and May to enter the stage to battle. Altaïr got up from his position on the wall and briskly walked through the door and into the short hall that linked the stadium. May hesitated in front of the doors momentarily until her legs began to automatically walk through the door, taking her into the stadium as well.

Once May and Altaïr had taken their positions on the opposite ends of the battlefield, MC Brian made his usual introductory speech for the audience.

"And now, we have our final battle for the day! This match will be between May, the Hoenn-native coordinator who has obtained many notable achievements through her career, and Altaïr, the darkhorse trainer that has proven himself worthy during the appeal rounds. The winner of this match will advance to the final rounds tomorrow, so do your best! Now, select your Pokémon to begin the battle!"

May, not having much knowledge about what Pokémon Altaïr owned besides Glaceon and Leafeon had to make her Pokémon choices on the spot.

"Blaziken, Eevee, show time!" May said as she performed a graceful spin and sent out two Pokéballs.

One ball exploded in a burst of flames while the other in a rainbow as May's Blaze and Evolution Pokémon emerged from the dazzling displays, announcing their names as they appeared.

May figured that since Altaïr's only known Pokémon were of Ice and Grass types, she deduced that Blaziken with her fire attacks would be a great choice. Eevee and her tricky fighting style would prove to be useful against any opponent as well.

Silently, Altaïr brought his right hand to his backpack strap that ran across his chest, which had his six differently colored Pokéballs attached to it, and held it there while he made his decision on who he would use. After a few moments, he quickly fingered for the black and yellow Pokéballs, detached them, and pitched them into the battlefield. The two balls opened up with plain bursts of white light and revealed two of his Eevee-evolutions.

"And in the red box, May has chosen Blaziken and Eevee, while Altaïr in the green box has chosen Umbreon and Jolteon. This will definitely prove to be an interesting battle!" commentated MC Brian.

The bell sounded and the battle began.

--------------------

"Oh man, this doesn't look good…" said Brock while feeding Happiny a bottle. "And I'm saying that even though we've never seen any of Altaïr's Pokémon other than Glaceon and Leafeon in action."

"Pika Pikachu…" cooed Pikachu as his ears drooped.

Ash however, had differing thoughts on his mind.

"Come on guys, don't think like that!" Ash snapped, surprising his two companions and the baby Pokémon. All three of them blankly stared at the slightly seething trainer.

After the initial stun of the outburst, Brock was able to respond back with his logic.

"But… Ash, you fought Altaïr… so you know full well of the magnitude of his abilities," said Brock, though more carefully in fear of causing Ash to erupt again.

"It doesn't matter, it's not all about strength and speed when it comes to battles!" countered Ash. He clenched his fist as he looked down, hat partially covering his face. "I may have lost to him, but that doesn't mean it's impossible to beat him. I've been defeated by Gary many times before, but during the Silver Conference, I was able to pull through and defeat him when it mattered the most." Then the trainer shot his fist into the air and looked towards the battlefield and at May.

"I believe in May, and I believe that she can beat Altaïr, because I know she has the ability and determination to… and also because she's my friend."

Brock was shocked once again, but this time at Ash's ability to make such a mature conjecture. He then smiled at his young companion and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You're right Ash. Even if Altaïr seems undefeatable, it doesn't mean I should stop supporting a friend and think of the worst. I'm sorry for thinking like that; some friend I am, huh?"

Ash looked up as he felt Brock's hand and smiled back. "It's nothing to be sorry about; you were just being good 'ol Brock!"

"Pikachu Pi!" chimed in the Electric-Mouse Pokémon happily.

"And May has called out the first attack, ordering her Blaziken to dive in for a Close Combat attack! A risky move to use this early in the battle!"

This announcement snapped Ash, Brock, and Pikachu back into watching the battle that May was now fighting.

Blaziken began running speedily towards Umbreon and Jolteon, who both stood motionless in the positions they had been first released from their Pokéballs. Altaïr stood still as well with his body and legs completely straight instead of in a battle pose.

As Blaziken came within range, she made a great leap and was soon high in the air above, readying to come back down and engage in fierce hand-to-hand combat with the two Eevee-evolutions. But as soon as Blaziken reached the peak of her jump, Umbreon and Jolteon both sped away in opposite directions out of the area Blaziken was jumping into.

"And it looks like Altaïr's Pokémon are finally taking part of the action, though Altaïr has given no order to his Umbreon or Jolteon! What could this silent trainer be up to?"

Blaziken landed on the ground and looked around quickly to see where he two opponents were, only to receive a hard white tail to her face.

"Using Close-Combat had made Blaziken open to an attack, which Umbreon was able to exploit and use an Iron Tail, or so it looks to be, on May's Blaziken. Again, Altaïr gave no order for the attack, so what the attack really was is currently unknown to me." May's points decreased a small amount at that.

"Eevee, use Shadow Ball on Umbreon, now!" yelled May, whose voice was projected into the stadium by the large speakers attached to the large widescreens stationed at the top.

From Ash, Brock, and Pikachu's point of view, they could see the small figure of Eevee summoning a ball of black matter in front of her. However, when Eevee had completed the task, she was abruptly interrupted by a flash of yellow that collided with her, stopping the attack from being launched. Eevee was sent flying as Jolteon materialized from the yellow blur and readied his stance for another attack. May's points took a hit once again.

"This isn't looking good for May…" Brock said warily.

"C'mon May, I know you can find a way," Ash whispered quietly to himself.

May could only watch as her points went down and her Pokémon fall down from Umbreon and Jolteon's attacks. She had thought that Altaïr was a strong trainer, but she never imagined that his Pokémon had this much capability. What jarred her most though, was that Altaïr had not spoken a single word to his Pokémon, yet they were staging a full assault.

The coordinator could only cringe as she saw Jolteon smash into Eevee again with another lightning-speed attack, then disappearing into a yellow blur once more. Something had to be done before either her Pokémon were knocked out or all her points were lost.

"Blaziken, help out Eevee before it's too late!" May said somewhat desperately.

Blaziken grunted in acknowledgement and began to run to where Eevee was to aid her, but Altaïr's Pokémon were not about to let that happen.

"Umbre!" cried a voice from behind Blaziken, causing her to turn around and see Umbreon running towards her. Blaziken knew that she would have to defend herself if she didn't want another Iron Tail to the back of her skull, so she abandoned the order that May gave her and struck a fighting stance.

"Blaziken, no! You have to help out Eevee, or else neither of you are going to end up well!"

But Blaziken was unable to respond to her trainer's command as Umbreon had now jumped off the ground and was flying through the air to reach the Blaze Pokémon. When Umbreon was only several meters away, he threw himself into a series of somersaults, making him seem like a rolling wheel, and continued to approach Blaziken. Blaziken, unfamiliar with such a move, was caught off guard and had no idea on what to do without May's guidance, so thus she was caught completely by surprise when a glowing white tail stuck out from the curled up form of Umbreon and struck her in the skull once again, knocking her to the ground.

"Blaziken, please, trust me! You and Eevee have to use teamwork in order to stand a chance!"

The obscure form of Jolteon struck Eevee with another attack with his body and sent the Evolution-Pokémon tumbling next to Blaziken. The battle had only been going on for just over a minute and May's points were just above the halfway point.

"Hmm…" Brock hummed.

"What is it?" questioned his companion.

"Pika?"

"I think I'm starting to notice something with Altaïr's Pokémon." Brock brought a hand up to his chin.

"Huh? What's that?"

"I-… never mind right now, I need to see more of the battle to be certain."

"Oh…" was all Ash could say back. _"Come on May, I know you must have something you can do…"_

"Well folks, from the looks of things, this battle has turned into a very one-sided match. It seems like May's Pokémon are no match for Altaïr's, and now May's points are teetering just above the halfway point. Will May be able to pull off a comeback at this point? There's still much time on the clock, so a lot can change in that time!"

Eevee and Blaziken both got up from the ground slowly, groaning as they felt the pains of their wounds. They stood back to back in the very center of the battlefield, facing Jolteon and Umbreon who stood facing the center at opposite ends.

"Eevee, Blaziken, you have to listen to me! You remember all those times in Johto when it seemed like all was lost right? Well, we were able to pull together with teamwork and fight back, sometimes even winning the match! All I ask is that you two do that, and whatever the outcome of the match is, I'll still be proud of you!"

_"Whoa, something's changed in her…" _thought Ash. He looked up at the widescreens and saw that the camera was now zoomed in on her. He noticed that her eyes had a familiar look in them, the look of intensity whenever she was in a battle, a look that he knew well and learned to love whenever he watched her in a contest. The strange feeling of whenever he thought about May returned to him as continued to stare at her sapphire eyes on the plasma screens.

"Now, Eevee, use Dig! Blaziken, Lava Plume on the whole battlefield!" The coordinator's eyes sparked with vigor as she found a confidence in herself that she thought she had lost long ago.

_"Even if I lose, it won't matter, as long as I do my best… for Ash."_

"Jolt."

"Bre."

Altaïr's two Pokémon nodded at each other and began to run in a circle around May's pinned Pokémon, Jolteon at a slower speed to stay in rhythm with Umbreon.

Eevee immediately dug a hole under Blaziken's feet and was soon underground, without anybody knowing where she would pop up next.

Blaziken, who stayed aboveground, waited for Eevee to disappear from sight before attacking.

"Blazeeeeeeee," chanted the Blaze Pokémon as flames engulfed her body.

Jolteon and Umbreon continued running in circles awaiting the attack that was soon to come.

"KENNNN!" roared Blaziken. The fire around her body was projected outwards in a circular wave and began expanding radially.

Umbreon and Jolteon moved away from the wall of fire while still maintaining their circular path until they were running on the sidelines.

The flames continued to extend outwards towards Altaïr's Pokémon but as the wall of fire was almost touching them, they both jumped high into the air and over the flames. They were now on the inside of the circle of fire and began running towards Blaziken, who was now defenseless in the center against two Pokémon.

"Blaziken, Flamethrower into the hole!"

"Blaziken!" said her Pokémon as she opened her mouth and shot a stream of flames downwards into the hole beneath her feet.

"What's this?" said Brock with excitement rising in his voice.

"I think I know what's coming," grinned Ash.

Pillars of fire then shot out of the ground at random points on the field, surprising both Umbreon and Jolteon, who now had to dodge them in order to get to Blaziken. However, more pillars continued to shoot up as Eevee continued to dig holes while Blaziken kept firing her Flamethrower attack into it.

"What an amazing move by May, who now has Altaïr's Pokémon dodging blindly in order to avoid being burned to a crisp!" Altaïr's points went down for the first time in the match.

"Jolt Jolt!" barked out Jolteon as he began to enter his maximum speed and into a yellow blur.

"Umbreon!" said Umbreon in response. Umbreon then began making his way towards Blaziken, who was still too concentrated on shooting the flames down into the hole to notice him approaching. Umbreon then jumped into the air and came down hard on Blaziken's back with his head, causing Blaziken to cease her firing and reel backwards in pain.

A yellow flash then appeared and brushed against Blaziken, leaving behind what looked to be yellow needles in her feathers. The flash appeared three more times in less than a second, leaving behind more yellow needles.

"Ah! What's going on?" cried May in confusion. But her question went unanswered as Umbreon slammed into Blaziken's back with his skull once again, causing the Blaze Pokémon to fall forward and the needles to dig farther into her body.

"Even with that unorthodox tactic, Altaïr's Pokémon are still able to dodge and counter it," Brock said gravely.

Ash could only growl softly at the trainer that was pummeling May's Pokémon below.

"Eevee, come out and defend Blaziken with Shadow Ball!"

Eevee emerged from a new hole next to Blaziken and shot out a Shadow Ball at Umbreon, who had just landed on the ground. It looked like the attack would connect, but even though Umbreon had just grazed the ground, he was still able to perform a back flip and dodge the attack which caused a small crater in the ground.

"Things are starting to get dim for May as her points continue to decline!" announced MC Brian. May looked up at the scoreboard and saw that her points were now around one-third while Altaïr still looked to have about 90 of his. She felt her stomach sink as she saw that there was only two minutes to go; she was running out of time and options.

Suddenly, Blaziken, who was on her knees breathing heavily, began to glow with a fiery veil, but this time it was not due to Lava Plume.

"Yes! Blaziken's Blaze ability is finally coming into effect!" cheered Ash.

"Pika Pikachu Pi!" cheered Pikachu as well.

Blaziken continued to glow and the flames on her wrists grew larger as the effect continued until it was in full effect, which then the glow vanished and Blaziken got up from her knees, ready for more to come.

Jolteon then exited his hyperspeed and appeared next to Umbreon, both staring at Blaziken and Eevee, who were side to side. The clock ticked down to one and a half minutes as the standoff continued, neither side making a single move.

"If May doesn't make a move soon, the time will run out and she'll lose the match!" Ash was now sitting at the edge of his seat. "COME ON MAY, YOU CAN DO THIS!" He yelled as loud as he could with the roaring crowd.

May turned her head upwards as she thought she heard someone call her name, but dismissed it and told herself she must have been hearing things. She needed all the focus she could get to end this battle on good terms.

"Alright, we have enough time to pull off one more attack. Eevee, use Quick Attack!"

"Eevee!" cried the small Pokémon as she went into a sprint, heading towards Jolteon and Umbreon who stood their ground.

"And it looks like this will be May's last ditch effort in order to try to pull this battle back together. An anticlimactic way to end an exciting battle," announced MC Brian.

_"This… this can't really be the way the battle is going to end, is it?" _thought Ash.

Eevee continued to speed across the field without hesitation, putting her full trust in her trainer's decision. She was only a couple of meters away from the opposing Pokémon when…

"Eevee, Baton Pass, now!"

Both Umbreon and Jolteon's ears perked up as, in a matter of a second, the small Eevee in front of them had disappeared with a pop and was instantly replaced with a large Blaziken with two glowing fists. In the mere meters that remained, the two Pokémon were caught off guard and were unable to respond, allowing Blaziken to Sky Uppercut both of them at the same time.

Both Pokémon cried out in pain as they were sent flying upwards, while Altaïr himself seemed to be bent forward with his hands on his stomach for some reason.

"YES!" shouted Ash.

"PIKA!"

"It looks like May finally found a flaw in Altaïr's Pokémon," said Brock proudly.

"Huh, what's that?" questioned Ash after he had finished cheering.

"Altaïr said his Pokémon learn how to battle through their experience from other battles right?" Ash nodded. "So that means his Pokémon can only predict attacks that are used standardly by other Pokémon. When unorthodox methods are used, his Pokémon are unable to react as quickly since they have never combated such techniques. And since Altaïr gives no orders, the Pokémon only have their instincts to rely on, which can sometimes be too slow in surprising situations.

"Ah, that makes sense!" Ash said.

"Yes, and his Pokémon also have another weakness, and that's their overconfidence.

Ash chuckled as Brock made that statement. "Well, that happens to everybody, especially me sometimes."

After the hit, Umbreon and Jolteon both stayed airborne for several more seconds before gravity took control and brought them crashing back into the ground. However, even after taking the powerful hit, they were still able to manage to get back onto their feet without too much difficulty, due to the fact that it was the first time they had taken damage in the battle.

Altaïr however, was now on his knees with his hands clutching his chest and stomach, but his face could not be viewed by May or any of the spectators. The people that noticed his strange behavior began shooting questions amongst each other.

"And what a brilliant move on May's part, using Baton Pass to quickly switch her two Pokémon around, allowing Blaziken to deliver a powerful blow to Jolteon and Umbreon! However, Jolteon and Umbreon seem to still be in healthy condition, and a single blow is not enough to take down Altaïr's points. With less than a minute to go, it seems like winning is now impossible for May."

"Jolteon, Umbreon, return!"

Everybody in the stadium went quiet when the order was given. Two red beams shot out of the Pokéballs on Altaïr's chest and took his two Pokémon back into their respective balls. Altaïr was now standing up again, though he was slightly hunched over due to whatever was bothering him.

"What's this? It looks like Altaïr's now forfeiting the match!" announced MC Brian with bewilderment. Ash, Brock, Pikachu, and the rest of the spectators could only watch with jaws dropped as the trainer who was dominating the battle was now resigning.

"What's going on?" shouted May from across the field, feeling her face and body become flushed. "Why are you forfeiting?"

"I have to go," said Altaïr in a soft, calm, tone, though his voice was still somehow heard clearly by May.

At that, he turned around and began walking off the stage. The entire stadium was now deathly silent as the mysterious boy made his way down the stairs and towards the stage doors.

May, who now had a flurry of thoughts and emotions running through her, stood with an astonished look on her face, and wondered what in the world had just happened. She then dropped to her knees and stared blankly at the teenaged boy's back.

--------------------

_"What the hell was that feeling… that feeling when they were hit?"_

_"Why did it__…__ hurt, why did I feel I was hit by a car?"_

_"Ugh, no matter, I have a job to do, and I'm gonna have to make some haste now."_

_"I'll figure it out later."_

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**Afterthought**

No hints or spoilers for you readers. P

Things will slowly be revealed at the story's pacing. That's just how I roll.

Threw in some alliteration into the chapter title. It sort of chronologically tells the events of the chapter.

Longest chapter I've written in a while.


	19. Polarity Check

**Foreword**

Well, huge plot surge here. Also, slight character altercations, though slight may be an understatement. But really, I doubt the characters have ever been faced with such a situation in the animé, so I feel that I have the right to make them act however I want. P

Besides, this ain't your ordinary day in the Pokémon world and its inhabitants.

-----------------

**Chapter 19 – Polarity Check**

"This bed is sooooo soft!" squealed Dawn as she jumped onto one of two queen-sized beds of her hotel room. Dawn's four Pokémon said their names in unison as they all scrambled onto the unoccupied bed, Piplup, Pachirisu, and Buneary all bouncing up and down while Buizel claimed a pillow as his own.

"Hey, what's this?" questioned the blue-haired girl as she spotted a small pamphlet lying on the desk in the corner of the room. All of her Pokémon turned their attention to their trainer and watched as she picked up the piece of paper.

The pamphlet contained information about the Lightcrown Plaza and the various services, activities, and miscellaneous, that the hotel hosted. Dawn was about to put down the pamphlet until she noticed something stapled to the back. Ripping the second sheet off, she saw that it was specifically for the coordinators currently residing in the complementary hotel rooms. Piplup jumped onto her shoulder as she read through the few cursive styled words on the pamphlet. It was mostly general information about the hotel with endorsements and advertisements by businesses that sponsored the event, but reaching the middle, the words there caught her eye.

_Tonight at 7:30 pm, there will be an informal dance, celebrating the conclusion of the first night of the contest, in the ballroom. Come and bring your friends to enjoy dancing and music. Attire is informal. _

"Oh wow, a dance! That sounds like a lot of fun, doesn't it guys?"

Her Pokémon excluding Buizel happily chimed in unison. Buizel was making himself cozy after a long day of battling.

Dawn looked at the clock on the nightstand between the beds and saw that the time was 6:30.

"Well, I'd better get out of this dress and take a shower before Ash and Brock get here." Dawn had earlier called Ash's PokéNav, which was when they arranged to meet at the hotel after Ash and Brock had eaten. Dawn also vaguely recalled something strange that happened during the conversation as well.

"Now I wonder what that was again…" she said to herself. Piplup shrugged in response to her question.

"Well, you guys behave, I'm going to go take that shower now and change," Dawn said as she went over to her backpack and pulled out her normal clothes before heading into the bathroom.

-------------------

Inside the bathroom, Dawn took off her beanie and set it on the bathroom counter as she looked at herself in the large mirror that took up the whole top half of the wall.

She gave a deep sigh and shut her eyes. "Wow, what a day."

The young girl began slowly recalling the events of the day, starting with the beginning, when she felt more nervous than she had ever felt before. Then she thought of hers, May's, and Altaïr's appeals,

remembering how astonished she was by Altaïr's and May's, and feeling that hers could not compare. Then the memory of the announcement for the double battles came, as well as how she defeated Geoffrey despite her large disadvantage. After her battle, she spent a majority of the time alone, as May had seemed to become agitated with her presence, so Dawn decided to converse with some other coordinators and watch some of the ongoing battles, but still kept a close eye on May since she seemed miserable. Eventually, Altaïr and May's final battle came, and she watched the trainer and the coordinator step out into the stadium, where she then saw them on the flat screens inside the staging area.

Dawn held her breath through the duration of their battle, but was as surprised as anybody else when Altaïr surrendered his certain victory to May, and walked off the stage. She also saw a couple shots of Altaïr bent over on the ground, which puzzled her. When Altaïr had gone off screen, he came into the staging room where all the coordinators stared at him, but he was easily able to ignore their stares and head out of the room into the main interior of the stadium without giving anybody time to say anything to him.

"_I really wonder where he went…" _pondered Dawn. _"He seemed to be in a bit of a hurry, and I haven't seen him since then. Hehe, it kind of makes him mysterious." _The girl giggled as she thought of Altaïr being some sort of secret agent on an important mission, falling in love with her at the same time he was on the mission.

After her short fantasy, Dawn continued to gradually remember the events of the day as she turned on the shower so it would be warm when she got in. There wasn't much else that happened after Altaïr had vanished, besides May returning to the quite staging room after he had. May seemed to be shaken up more than anybody else, but when Dawn approached her and began talking to her, the brunette seemed to return to her normal, friendly self, and apologized for her abnormal behavior earlier.

Together, the two coordinators exited the stadium at the conclusion of the first day of the contest. During the trek was when Dawn remembered that she contacted Ash with her PokéNav and arranged a time to meet up. She also mentioned that May was right next to her and that May also lived on the same floor as she. However, Dawn didn't notice May's behavior during her conversation with Ash, which consisted mainly of heavy blushing and nervous gestures. Before Dawn could even pursue the topic of meeting with May, Ash began to stutter and hung up abruptly without warning.

"Now that really was weird," Dawn said to herself in the mirror. "Sometimes I don't quite understand that boy." The blue-haired girl giggled as she thought about Ash's past silly ventures.

"Well, shower time," Dawn announced as she began undressing.

------------------

"What a day…" sighed May as she plopped herself down on the bed. Unlike Dawn, however, May decided against releasing her Pokémon, since Blaziken was a rather large figure to fit in the room, and having a total of six small to large sized Pokémon inside the room at the same time would be a crowd.

"_Well, I finally get a chance to relax, after all that contest excitement." _But relaxing was proving to be difficult for the brunette as the stress she manifested throughout the day turned on and off in her mind.

"_I think I really need to loosen up a bit right now, maybe take a short nap." _May turned her head to the right and glanced at the digital clock sitting atop the nightstand between the two beds, which showed 6:30 on the dot.

"_Well, first, I could use a nice hot shower… that should help me relax a bit." _

May went over to her fanny pack that she had placed at the foot of her bed and opened it up to extract her usual clothes. She then walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind her.

As May entered the large and luxurious bathroom, thoughts began to wander through her head as she began to work on getting her dress undone.

"_I wonder why Ash hung up when I was mentioned over the PokéNav when Dawn called him," _she thought, feeling slightly hurt at the same time. _"Maybe… maybe…"_

May then stopped fidgeting with her dress and looked into her own image in the mirror.

"_Have I let myself go?" _the coordinator then mentally slapped herself. _"Why the heck did I think that?! Ash wouldn't not talk to me because of how I look."_

She then started playing with her hair and continued looking at herself in the large mirror. _"Maybe… maybe he just doesn't see the need to talk to me."_

"_Or maybe he doesn't consider me that close of a friend anymore."_

"_Or maybe he doesn't really consider me his friend anymore."_

May shook her head violently, her hair flailing about as she did so, and mentally slapped herself again.

"_Knock it out, May! Now you're just overreacting. Ash probably just wants to talk to me in person, instead of just over the PokéNav. Yeah, that's it!"_

Feeling encouraged May began to get ready to take her shower.

--------------------

It was dinnertime, and Ash and Brock were gorging tacos at the counter of a Mexican fast food stand that was open on the street. Pikachu, on the other hand, was sad to see that the joint had no ketchup, but quickly found a new love for hot sauce, even though it caused his tongue to burn up.

"Hm, Brock, how come you never make tacos, or anything Mexican on our journey," questioned Ash as he devoured another taco in a single bite.

Brock took a bite out of his own taco before putting a hand up to his chin. "That's a good question, Ash. Why _don't _I make Mexican food?"

"Well, maybe you should try it next time," suggested the trainer with his mouth full.

Brock simply chuckled at the younger teen's silly appearance before handing him a napkin. "So, exciting day today, huh?"

"Yeah, I had no idea Pokémon Contests that aren't the Grand Festival could be that intense."

"Especially that last battle, between Altaïr and May," continued the breeder.

At the sound of the latter's name, Ash choked on the bite of taco he had just taken, causing Brock to raise an eyebrow.

"You all right there, Ash?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," responded Ash as he took a gulp of his soda. "So, yeah, that last battle was pretty awesome," said Ash, faking enthusiasm, when in reality, he was sad to see that all of May's efforts were in vain against the older trainer.

"Well, I'm done," announced Brock. "We should meet up with Dawn now, when you're done of course."

"I'm done," said Ash as he finished chewing his last bite and gulping down the last of his drink. "You done, Pikachu?"

"Pika Pikapi!" chirped Pikachu cheerfully as he opened his last pack of hot sauce and finished it in one slurp.

"Heh, that's nasty, Pikachu."

-------------------

_Knock knock._

"Oh, that must be Ash and Brock!"

Dawn jumped off the bed where she was watching a recap of the contest from and scurried over to the door. She undid the lock near the top and swung the door open.

"Oh! Hey, May!" Dawn said with surprise.

"Uh, Hey… what are you up to?" the brunette, smiling politely, but with obvious hesitation.

"I'm just getting ready for the dance tonight!" Dawn continued on cheerfully, not noticing May's demeanor.

May blinked. "Dance? What dance?"

"You didn't see the pamphlet on the desk?" questioned the blue-haired girl.

"Nope. I was pretty tired, so I just decided to take a shower first, and change into my normal clothes." May's face brightened up then. "So there's a dance, huh?"

"Yup, 7:30. Hey, why don't you hang out here with me until Ash and Brock get here! I was going to drag them there with me too, anyway."

"Uh… A-Ash?..." May said, stumbling over his name. "…And Brock?" she finished quickly, catching herself from making any obvious hints.

"Yeah, they should be here any minute now, actually." Dawn turned her head around to see the time showing 7:10 on the clock.

"Oh, well… sure!" May felt her heart leap at the thought of finally seeing Ash. She then looked down at her body and instantly felt dissatisfied with her appearance. "Ugh, I'll be right back, though. I have to fix myself up a bit… for the dance of course."

"Alrighty, see you soon!" Dawn closed the door behind May as she left.

"_I-I can't believe it! Finally, I get to see Ash!"_

-------------------

_Knock knock._

"_Hm, must be Ash and Brock, since May just left."_

Dawn tiptoed over to the door and opened it, revealing two male figures before her.

"Hey Dawn," greeted Brock and Ash.

"Pika Pi Pikachu!"

"Hey Ash, Brock, Pikachu," said Dawn as she petted Pikachu, who was on Ash's shoulder.

"Chaaaa…"

"So, what'cha been up to?" asked Brock as he and Ash both walked into the room.

"Ohh, just watching highlights from the contest on TV," Dawn said while pointing at the television set.

"Speaking of the contest, you did great today, Dawn!" Ash flashed a big smile at the young coordinator.

Dawn soon found herself feeling warm around the face as she looked into his dark brown eyes. "T-Thanks…" Everything earlier that day, the contest, Altaïr's disappearance, the conversation she just had with May minutes ago, left her mind, and she passionately wanted to be with Ash downstairs on the dance floor. It was as if a foreign force possessed her mind.

"Sooo," Dawn began, drawing out her voice. "There's a dance going on downstairs right now… how about we head down there right now." Dawn's voice became increasingly flirtatious as she took Ash's right hand with her left.

"Uh… well…" Ash's mind drifted to May, how he wanted to see her, and maybe even dance with her…

But Dawn's blue eyes and cute little smile captivated him for the time being, and he felt his resistance decrease.

"Sure."

"_Besides, I'm just dancing with Dawn, it doesn't really mean anything. I still want to meet with… May. I'm sure she'll be down there as well."_

Ash allowed himself to be led by Dawn through the door, leaving a dumbfounded Brock and Pikachu behind, wondering what had just happened.

-------------------

May stepped out of the elevator as it opened its doors on the main floor. She looked around the grand lobby, searching for any signs leading to the ball room, where the ballroom was.

The lobby itself was immense, housing many couches, tables, chairs, stands, all organized neatly around a giant fountain with a beautiful Milotic sculpture in the center, spraying water through an opening in its stone mouth.

May admired the statue from a distance, remembering the different Milotic she had come across on her journey with Ash. The first was Robert's Milotic, who was as coordinator that had won the first Hoenn Grand Festival May attended. The brunette then recalled the Milotic of Juan, the Sootopolis City Gym Leader, and Battle Pike Queen Lucy, the Frontier Brain of the Battle Pike. The Pokémon was truly beautiful and magnificent, and May had sometimes imagined herself capturing one and using it herself in a contest. However, there were no Milotic or Feebas in Johto, so May never had the option of searching for the Pokémon.

Remembering why she was there in the first place, May pulled her eyes off the fountain statue and continued looking for the ballroom.

"_Huh, I wonder why Dawn would leave without me when she asked if I wanted to wait for Ash and Brock with her."_

"_Ash…"_

"_Well, it's probably nothing. She probably just got too excited for it and decided to head down herself. I wonder if Ash and Brock are with her."_

"_Ash…"_

"_Oh, here're some directions."_

May had arrived to a couple of golden plates bolted onto the wall, giving names of specific rooms and other activity centers with arrows pointing in the direction where they were. She soon found the plate with "Ballroom" on it, with an arrow pointing across the lobby at a wide hall.

"_Should be right down there."_

May made her way across the lobby and headed down the hallway. Soon, she spotted a hanging sign with "Ballroom" on it, pointing towards a huge pair of double doors that looked to be the entrance to a castle.

"Here it is," May said out loud.

The brunette could hear loud music through the door, with a heavy bass causing the floor to quiver. Preparing herself for what was to come, May pushed the doors open and entered the ballroom.

The room was nearly completely dark, save for a couple laser lights and strobe lights. The music was fairly loud, causing May to cringe slightly, but the large crowd inside didn't seem to mind. Coordinators of the contest and their friends occupied the interior of the room, some sitting tables chatting and enjoying food and drink, while a majority of them were up and dancing in the center. A DJ could be spotted by May at the end of the room on a risen platform, making hand motions to the beat of the music, which at the moment, was a fast beat techno song.

The inside was hot too, for the body heat of every person contributed to the stuffy atmosphere. May noticed the heat, but did her best to ignore it as she began to move through the fairly dense crowd. She walked around on her tiptoes in order to get as best a view as she could to spot Ash, Brock, Pikachu, or Dawn. Unable to do so because most of the people were taller than her, May gave up and began to wander around. As she did so, she began to notice how the people around her were "dancing".

It was really just a crazy mess of party Pokémon, with people jumping around colliding into one another, small circles of dancers around ravers, and grinders. The grinding grossed May out at first, but then the thought of doing such acts with certain boys came to her mind.

"_EW! NO! NONE OF THAT STUFF!"_

May made a face of disgust at the thought, belittling herself for thinking such ideas. The coordinator continued through the crowd, resuming the search for anybody that she knew.

A hand then pulled on May's shoulder, spinning her around so that she was face to face with an older coordinator, who was dancing suggestively in front of her.

"Hey baby, you look like you're a bit lost. How 'bout you come and have some fun with big daddy o'er here?"

"Uh, no thanks," May responded, panicking slightly and backing off quickly. She left the vicinity in which the creep was at and eventually made her way out of the dancing crowd.

"Wow," the brunette breathed to herself. "I never knew dances are thiscrazy… and I haven't even done any dancing!" May found a vacant table and seated herself on a chair. "I think I need to cool down a bit…"

Minutes went by as May sat at the table alone. A few teenaged guys, all seeming to be older and slightly intoxicated, offered to take her into the dance floor to have some "fun", but May politely refused all of them, which none of them seemed to care as they were in such a state of ecstasy.

Finally, the loud rap song that was playing turned down, and the DJ began speaking.

"So this is for all y'all that are couples out there, so hold each otha close, and let the music do 'da rest."

Many of the people on the dance floor left the floor and sat at the surrounding tables, while others grabbed a partner for the slow dancing that was to come. May then felt a wave of depression as she thought how she could be out there dancing with Ash.

Or Altaïr, but he wasn't even around.

"_Man, I really wonder where they all went. Maybe… maybe they're not even here, and they ditched me altogether!"_

A slow song than began playing, and the couples began swaying slowly to the music. May eyed the couples enviously, wishing that she could be up there.

"_Maybe… maybe they're having fun without me somewhere else..."_

The song then moved on into the chorus, and the dancers continued their slow dancing.

"_Maybe they just don't want me around…"_

But May then saw something that was worse than all of her thoughts put together. Through a few couples, May spotted a pair of familiar hats. One was a red hat with a familiar symbol, but blue in color, while the other was a white beanie with a pink symbol.

The heads that the caps sat on belonged to two people that May was acquainted with. May could vaguely make out their faces in the dim lights of the room, but she could make them out nonetheless. She felt her jaw drop, and her heart flake.

"_No…"_

The couples around the two capped figures then moved away, fully revealing Ash and Dawn in each other's arms, slow dancing with one another. May felt her soul plunge deeper than it ever felt before, but instead of tears, the brunette felt something inside her snap.

"_Fine!" _she thought angrily. _"If Ash wants to be with Dawn, then let him be! He's caused me nothing but pain and misery over these past few days."_

"_But he hasn't even done anything," said a calmer voice in her head._

"_So? He's still affecting me. He's been acting like he doesn't even care about me, and now I can see why."_

"_Are you sure about that? Are you sure you're not just blowing things out of proportion? Maybe he's just dancing with her to be nice. After all, she does seem like that type."_

"_I know what I see, and what I see is that Ash has the hots for Dawn."_

"_Why don't you just ask him?"_

That silenced the angry voice in May's head momentarily, but then, she noticed the door to the ballroom open, and Altaïr walked in.

The angry voice then responded._"Well, if I can't have Ash, at least I can get Altaïr."_

The calm voice was dissipated at that, and May felt a strange force take her over, a force of raging emotions and feelings, ranging from anger, to jealously, and to hysteria.

"_And I know the quickest way to a man's heart." _

------------------

**Afterthought**

O.o


	20. Ice Box

** announcement: I've noticed that the line breaks I write out don't appear in , so I'll have to redo every chapter to fix it. But for now, try your best to read it and understand where the setting shifts.**

**Foreword**

Continuing on from last chapter. Lots to happen.

**Chapter 20 – Ice Box**

"Hey Altaïr, where've you been?" said a female voice.

Altaïr spun around, and a girl clad mostly in red with a red bandana on her brown hair came into view.

"May," acknowledged Altaïr with a nod. "Uh, I was just attending to some business after I left the contest." He paused, and continued. "You probably want to know why I threw the battle."

"Well, actually, I wanna know if you want to dance with me first?" asked May, doing her best to hide her nervousness.

"…Huh?"

May gathered more courage and asked once again, this time more boldly. "Do you want to dance with me?"

Altaïr furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at the girl before him who eyed him with sparkling blue eyes. The room was dark, but he could make out her features, such as her little smile, her clasped hands, her cute face…

"…'Kay, why not."

The young coordinator felt her heart leap and had the urge to squeal, but suppressed it in fear of looking silly in front of Altaïr. She grabbed his right hand with her left and began to lead him into the dance floor.

Altaïr coolly followed, but kept his guard up since May was acting strangely, in his assessment. He began to wonder why he had even agreed to dance in the first place again.

Eventually, the two were in the midst of the action and May began to take lead, lifting her arms and swaying her hips to the moderate speed of the new song. Altaïr raised an eyebrow at her dancing, but felt his own body start to move to the beat as he looked at the girl's face that smiled seductively at him.

"_Whew, is it me, or is it getting hot in here…"_

May continued her dancing while moving closer to Altaïr at the same time, and soon her back was against Altaïr's front side. The teenaged girl could feel her cheeks become warmer, but she went on and continued backing up against Altaïr until her back was rubbing against his front as she swayed.

Altaïr, who began feeling even hotter, allowed May to move against his body, but he stopped his own movements and froze into a statue. The teenaged boy felt the strong desire for pleasure churn inside him, but his conscience kept him from taking advantage of the situation.

May was now grinding against Altaïr, and she felt her whole body heat up. She knew that she was doing the very thing she had just voiced disgust towards, but the half of her that wanted love and companionship compelled her to go on. The brunette closed her eyes as she relaxed herself, and let her body and mind go free. Her dancing intensified, and she turned around to face Altaïr, who stiffened even more as she did so.



"Oh, c'mon Altaïr, there's no need to be nervous," said May with a sultry voice while opening her eyes to stare into his.

"Uh…" Altaïr could only stare blankly back. It was still near impossible for May to tell his emotions through his dark eyes.

Unbeknownst to the dancing pair, a pair of brown eyes observed them from their corners as the teenager they were attached to danced with his partner.

Ash watched with wide eyes as May was dancing provocatively before Altaïr, while Dawn watched Ash with interest.

"Something caught your eye, Ash?" asked Dawn as she danced a comfortable distance from Ash, as opposed to the way May was dancing.

"Huh?" said Ash as he tilted his eyes back at Dawn. "Uh… it's nothing…" he answered after a second, hoping the answer would satisfy Dawn.

Dawn looked suspiciously at Ash for a moment, then shrugged and let the question go, deciding she would rather have fun with Ash than pursue the reason for his strange behavior.

The trainer sighed as Dawn looked away from his eyes and continued her dancing, allowing him to rotate his eyes back towards May and Altaïr.

"_Since when have those two… how the hell?"_

The questions began popping in Ash's head, and soon he found himself subconsciously inching away from Dawn to get a closer view of the other pair. After catching himself though, he inched back towards Dawn, but still kept Altaïr and May in view.

"_Maybe it's just a coincidence… maybe they just met and decided to dance with each other…"_

"_But I never knew May could dance like THAT. How much has she changed since we were last together?"_

"_How do I know she's not with Drew, or anybody else?"_

"_Or maybe she likes Altaïr… and maybe he likes her too…"_

As that painful conclusion hit Ash, he felt his heart sink lower than it ever did before, even lower than it did when he lost in the Indigo Plateau. His shoulders sank like they were weighed down by a heavy backpack, and his knees went soft.

His dance partner noticed his sudden change in demeanor, and stopped her own dancing to look at him with concerned eyes.

"…Ash?"

The trainer initially made no response, but then slowly looked at the young coordinator in front him. With lifeless eyes, he answered her.

"I think I'm going to go back to the Pokémon Center now… I have a stomachache."

Dawn made an attempt at saying something back, but Ash had already strode out of her sight, and melded into the crowd. Before he made it to the door, however, he took one last look at his beloved and his rival.

"_Maybe it just wasn't meant to be."_

"_This has got to stop… I can't do this…"_

Altaïr suddenly jerked backwards from May, who was just a hair's width away from him. May looked at him with confusion, and slight hurt, but Altaïr did his best to resist.

However, he couldn't lay it out so plainly to her, so he did the second thing that came to mind.

"Uh, I just remembered, I have to go up to my room and uh… do some… things." The tall teenager cursed at himself for the lame excuse, but it worked nonetheless, as May's expressions disappeared and a cheerful one replaced it.

"Oh, ok! When will you be back, then?" the coordinator chirped.

"Uh, actually, I think it'll take all night, so I probably won't be able to come back down here…"

"Oh… well, then I guess you have to go do what you gotta, right?" May looked at Altaïr with disappointment.

"Yeah…" Altaïr meant to leave the conversation at that, but a strange force within him compelled to leave the girl with some closure. "Well, you can come to my room to visit, if you like…"

"_Whoa! Damn! What made me say that?!"_

But it was too late to take the offer back, as May suddenly looked up at him with bright eyes and a wide smile.

Altaïr felt like slapping himself across the face at that moment, but the damage was done, and he had to get away from May before anything else could happen. He quickly nodded before turning around to make his way out of the ballroom.

"_No, I can't do this… I can't put another unnecessary variable in my life…"_

"_I can't have-…"_

"Hey, Brock?"

Brock was unable to hear the voice over the loud music, and continued to dance like a drunkard with three other women, feeling as though he was in heaven.

"Brock!"

The breeder still did not respond to the call, and now had his arm around two of the girls, bringing them in close.

"BROCK!" screamed the voice into his ear.

"AH! WHA?!" Brock jumped up in surprise, but still managed to keep his arms around his newfound companions.

"Get over here!" seethed Dawn as she grabbed his ear and pulled him away from the girls.

"NOOOO! TAKE ME BACK! I MAY NEVER HAVE THIS-."

"Oh be quiet, this is important!" barked Dawn as she pulled hard on Brock's ear, causing him to squeal.

Dawn calmed herself down after inflicting her wrath on Brock, and let go of his ear.

"Sorry about being so rough with you, but I didn't think there was any other way to get you away from them," said Dawn sheepishly.

Brock only moaned in grief in response.

"But I had to pull you out because of Ash. He began acting really weird, and then he walked out to go back to the Pokémon Center, saying he has a stomachache."

"Well, he did eat a ton of tacos for dinner, so maybe that's it. Can I go back now?" Brock looked longingly in the direction of the three girls he was pulled away from.

"No! I could tell something was really up with Ash. He, he looked really hurt, or something like that…" Dawn clasped her hands together and looked worriedly at Brock.

"Could you ask Ash what's wrong whenever you see him again? It doesn't have to be right now; it can be after the dance, when you're done with your… stuff, but whenever you meet up with him back at the Pokémon Center."

Brock looked closely at Dawn, and saw that she really was apprehensive about what happened.

"Alright, I'll do it, but I don't get why you can't go talk to him yourself. It's not that I don't care, but this seems like something you would go handle yourself."

Dawn froze as Brock drew up that evaluation, and quickly looked away from the breeder.

"Is it because you-"

"Ooook! Well, I'm going to go back up to my room now. See you later, Brock!" and with that, Dawn ran off through the crowd towards the exit.

Brock merely chuckled at the girl's actions, and made one final thought to himself.

"_Heh, children, they always gotta hide their love, unlike me."_

Brock puffed his chest out in pride at his ability to proclaim love to any woman he found beautiful.

"_Now, where are those three?"_

Altaïr stepped out of the steaming shower and grabbed a towel to begin drying himself. His thoughts meandered about, from the contest, to his evening surveillance, to what just happened at the dance, and to the forthcoming night. He sighed deeply as he looked at himself in the mirror, which reflected the image of a messy, long-haired teenager. He noted that his hair had grown considerably in just a few days, and made a second note to cut it sometime soon.

The trainer pulled his eyes away from the mirror, not wanting to stare at himself for too long, and began making his way for the clean clothes that he had tossed onto the floor before he took his shower. Just as 

Altaïr was bending over to pick them up, he heard a knock outside of the bathroom door that he'd left open.

At first, Altaïr decided on ignoring it for the time being to get dressed, but more knocks soon followed, this time slightly louder. The boy gave in, and decided to go for the door outside, since eventually, the knocking would get on his nerves.

Altaïr grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his torso before walking out of the bathroom. He turned right, where the door stood directly in front of him, and without looking through the peephole, or engaging the lock at the top, Altaïr swung the door open.

When he saw who was outside, he wished he had done either of those two things.

Standing before him was May, still dressed in the clothes she wore at the dance. At first, she smiled sweetly at him, but then turned bright red and her mouth hung agape as she saw him naked with only a towel on.

"Uh…" was all Altaïr could manage to get out.

"H-Hey-," started May. She then put on the smile once again, though she was still red, and went on. "-can I come in?"

"Well, um, can I get some… yeah…" Altaïr looked down at himself, and felt his body heat up, even though his room was air-conditioned.

"Actually, it's kind of urgent. Can I just wait inside?"

"…Ok?"

Altaïr stepped aside and let the coordinator in, who walked past him towards the beds, but not without sneaking another glance at his physique.

The teenaged boy mumbled unintelligible words to himself about the embarrassing situation, and walked into the bathroom, this time closing the door behind him.

May, now at the beds, plopped herself down on the one closest to her, and waited patiently for Altaïr to emerge from the bathroom. In her mind, she reviewed her plan, and nervously twiddled her fingers.

Glancing around the room, May noticed there were not many foreign objects in the room. The only things she could see were Altaïr's backpack with his Pokéballs, the suitcase, and the brown package, the latter two recognized by May as the two objects he carried with him around noon that day.

The coordinator also spotted an electronic device lying on the desk, with a wire attached to it running towards a power outlet. May had the thought of checking it out, but decided against it as she didn't want to invade his privacy more than she already was.

Looking behind her, the clocked on the nightstand showed 9:32 pm.

"_The night's still young," _thought May.

Finally, a click was heard from the bathroom door, and Altaïr emerged in a plain white T-shirt and boxers. May felt her cheeks warm as she looked at his body again.

"So uh, what's so urgent here?" asked Altaïr plainly as he sat on the opposite bed.

May stayed silent, thinking of the words to say to him.

"Altaïr-," she began, and thought some more. "-do you have somebody?"

"Whuu…?" he drawled in a slightly stupid tone.

May reiterated. "Do you… have somebody that… you care for?"

The question sounded extremely familiar to the trainer, and he began feeling uneasy in the situation.

"I used to… and I believe you've asked me the same question before."

"Well, before, I asked if you did have somebody you cared for, and now I'm asking if you still do." May looked slightly away from Altaïr's black eyes that stared at her.

"Then no, I don't."

May went silent for a moment, and Altaïr waited patiently.

"Well, do you think… are you… uh…" the coordinator couldn't seem to get the right words out. After some stuttering, she finally got it.

"Are you available, then?"

Altaïr didn't say a word.

May waited longer for his reply, but none came. He only stared at her with his dark eyes, betraying no thought or emotion.

"W-Well… the reason why I'm, asking… is… because…" May got up from the bed she sat on, and took a single step towards Altaïr. This time, his eyes betrayed a hint of uneasiness, and he shifted backwards slightly.

Then, without warning, May shoved hard on Altaïr's shoulders and he fell backwards, flat onto his back. A shocked expression took over the teenaged boy's face, but he couldn't utter a single word as May suddenly pounced on top of Altaïr, pinning his arms with her hands and his legs against the side of the bed with her knees.

When Altaïr's vision refocused, he looked up with wide eyes at the girl who had just overpowered him. May's eyes were now closed as she readied her lips. Then the realization of what May was doing hit Altaïr, and he attempted to summon all his resistance to push the coordinator off him, but it was too late.

May dove in with her head and her mouth connected with Altaïr's. A muffled yell of surprise could be heard from Altaïr's throat, but May went right on kissing him. After a few moments of just touching lips, Altaïr could feel May's tongue beginning to probe his mouth. It felt like it went on for hours, but it only took a few seconds for Altaïr to decide that enough was enough.

Altaïr deftly slipped his arms from under May's hands, grabbed her shoulders, and heaved her off of him to his left. The trainer picked himself up from the bed and stood up, looking away from May. May, who was now on her back, opened her eyes when she finally noticed that she was no longer connected with Altaïr, and sat up, wondering what happened.

"I'm, sorry, but this isn't right," said Altaïr in a low voice.

"Huh?" whispered May, eyes becoming watery.



Altaïr still did not turn around and continued. "I can't allow you to go on like this. I can't allow myself to take all this."

"But, but…" she had to say it.

"I love you…"

Altaïr's body locked at those words as he stood with a deathly stillness. May tensed up as well as she watched the boy before her, and felt as though the air around her suddenly became colder. Shivers were sent up her spine as she awaited his response

Then, Altaïr spoke with a dark tone that made May shudder.

"No, you don't."

The girl couldn't believe what she was hearing, but she pressed on.

"Yes I do!" she began, starting to tear up. "How would you know what I'm feel-."

"Because I know what's going on!" Altaïr's voice was soft, but had a harsh tone to it. "What you think I am is not what I really am. You don't really know a single thing about me, besides from the few things I've said. What you have is a blurred image of me. You have nothing but an infatuation with me."

Tears were now flowing down May's cheeks as she tried to open her mouth to interject, but Altaïr had one line to say.

"What you really have is Ash."

It felt as though a knife cut through May's chest when Altaïr mentioned Ash's name. Memories of the boy overflowed her thought, causing her face to become even wetter. Pandemonium erupted in May's mind, and it felt as though she was carrying a heavy weight.

May buried her face in her hands as she began to audibly sob, causing Altaïr to turn around for the first time. He looked at her with the same impassive look that he usually had, and took the initiative to say the next words.

"I think, you should go."

The despaired girl slowly got up from the bed, face still in her hands, and began allowed herself to be led by Altaïr to the front door. The teenaged boy opened the door, and softly nudged her out. Before he closed the door, May uncovered her face from her hands, but looked straight ahead, away from Altaïr, and breathed deeply.

"W-Why are you so…" she paused as she thought for the right word.

"Cold?..."

May couldn't see Altaïr's expression at her question, but he spoke in his normal, controlled tone, as he answered.

"Because ice is my element."

The door behind May closed.



It was midnight, and Altaïr was awake, preparing for the night ahead of him.

He first got his normal street clothes off, and walked over to where the brown, lumpy package sat on a desk. He grabbed his pocketknife and cut the strings that held the package together, and unwrapped its contents.

Two boots, two gauntlets, a belt, and a black hooded robe that was neatly folded up were now revealed to the boy. Altaïr first picked up the robe, feeling the tough material it was composed of, and slowly unfolded it. He laid it on a bed and examined it for a few moments, before going back to the desk to where his suitcase also lay.

He reached into his pocket, pulling out a key, and stuck the key into the lock of the suitcase. The suitcase unlocked with a click, allowing Altaïr to undo the buckle. He slowly opened the suitcase and pulled out some sort of leather sash that had five specifically shaped pockets. He took out another sash of the same fashion, and then continued to pull out two pads that had five of the same shaped pockets on the top of them.

As he laid them all down on the desk in an organized fashion, his PDA that sat at the corner of his desk, charging at an outlet, beeped once.

He reached over the table and pulled the PDA out of its charging cable, and held it in his left hand. On the screen, it displayed that he had a "New Message," which he touched with his right index finger to open.

_Don't mess up._

_-The Director_

Altaïr gave a short snort in amusement, and exited the message before setting the PDA back down. He reached for his suitcase once again and pulled out a silver object, spinning the object once before sticking it in one of the pockets.

"_This will be a long night."_

**Afterthought**

…I won't say anything.

The title "Ice Box" is just after the song Ice Box by Omarion, which I recently just started listening to. Usually, I'm not an R&B guy, but this song has caught my attention. Also, it goes along with Altaïr saying that "ice" was his element. That's all I'll say about that. )


	21. East

**Foreword**

Sorry… this took a while to finish. And most of it was written just tonight too.

I really need to start scheduling myself better.

* * *

**Chapter 21 - East**

Two humans and a Pokémon trudged through the brightly lit streets of Lightcrown, with stomachs growling loudly. Their heads hung down as they constantly thought about food as their mouths watered.

"We haven't eaten ever since we were blasted off by that strange kid," moaned the blue-haired man.

"I know, we landed so far from civilization that we had to walk for days just to get here," sighed the red-haired woman.

"Well, if you's two wasn't so slow, we could'a got away's from 'dat scary twoip," said their talking Pokémon weakly.

"At least we should be able to find some food now that we're in the city. Where do you think we should start, Jessie?" said the blue-haired man turning to his female partner.

"I don't know, James. We don't have any money, as usual, so there's no place we can go and pay to eat," Jessie grumbled.

"Guess it's back to 'da trash bins 'gain, huh?" Meowth sadly looked to the right, down an alley to see if he could find any full bins.

"The sun's starting to come up, too," noted Jessie dully.

"Yeah, I guess we should get moving now," James suggested.

Meowth sighed and began turning away from the alley before movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention.

"Huh, what was 'dat?" he said loudly.

Jessie and James both turned back to Meowth with wondering expressions.

"What was what?" asked James.

"Take a look." Meowth beckoned his two teammates over and pointed down the alley.

"This had better be good, Meowth, else I'm going to make you regret making me walk more than I already have," murmured Jessie.

"Gah! Get ova' here now!" Meowth suddenly exclaimed.

Jessie and James both jogged over to where Meowth was and glanced down the alley. Sure enough, there was something, or rather, someone, in the darkness. What caused the Rockets to widen their eyes was the fact that the person was now scaling a brick wall. From where they were, they could hear the figure breathing heavily and grunting with effort as it seemed to use all its energy to get up the wall. Soon, the person was over the building and out of sight.

"What-What was that?" questioned James.

"I have no idea, but let's go over for a closer look."

The Rockets entered the alley and walked over to the area that they had seen the figure. They examined the wall and saw that it was rather flat, with no good holds to be able to climb it.

"Wonda' how 'dat poisen was able to climb 'dat wall," pondered Meowth.

"Hey, what's this here?" Jessie said as she spotted streaks on the wall.

"Is it, paint?" James asked as he noticed the streaks on the wall as well. He traced the path of the streaks and saw that it went down to the ground, where it traveled along the path that the mysterious person they had seen had been on.

Jessie then placed her nose up to the wall, and sniffed the substance. The smell seemed rather familiar to her, and it suddenly hit her.

"Guys, this is-!"

* * *

"Ash!"

"Huh… wha…?"

"Ash, over here!"

The boy that was being called looked to his right across a grassy field at a lone tree. Under the tree in the shadow stood a figure that he could recognize anywhere.

"M-May?!" shouted Ash, breaking into a run towards the large tree. The shadow of the tree shrouded her face but he knew it was definitely her.

He was now in a full sprint as he covered the seemingly endless field of grass that spread in all directions. The tree and body of May grew larger as he became within fifty meters of them. He could feel his

excitement rise for it was the first time they spoke since she had left for Johto.

"_I'm coming, May, I'm coming."_

Ash was now mere feet away from their position and he could just about see May's face. He stopped just before the shadow cast by the tree, and gazed into her sapphire eyes from a short distance. The teenager felt himself smile widely and took one step towards her.

Right as he entered the shade, he blinked his eyes as they began adjusting from the bright light to the darkness. But when his eyes reopened, and refocused themselves, something was off. The figure of May was now gone. Ash blinked again, to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him, and May was still absent from the scene.

The trainer began turning in all directions, trying to spot where May could be. He figured she was just hiding somewhere to tease him, but there was no where to hide since he was in the middle of a vast grassland and the only thing that broke the flat land was the tree he stood under.

Ash began to panic, since people couldn't just vanish like that. "Uh… May… this isn't… funny… so you can come out now," he gulped.

Sweat dripped down his temples as the situation began to take the best of him. He was now running around the large tree, but it was futile as May still did not reappear. The teenaged boy looked up into the leaves and branches and saw no sign of her still.

"What-What's going on?!" he shouted out loud.

As he said that, something suddenly appeared at the corner of his eye. Ash turned to face the thing he saw and gasped in surprise. Before him stood a person who was not May, but rather a tall, hooded figure wearing a black robe. The presence of such a person froze Ash in his place, and caused his jaw to drop.

The robed figure then raised a hand wearing a heavy gauntlet, and pointed a finger at Ash. The act confused the trainer, but he still made no movement.

Then, the strange person began taking steps with his feet clad in heavy boots that left imprints in the grass as it neared the teenaged boy. Ash immediately began to panic once again and swiftly turned tail to run. But before Ash had moved much distance from the person, he heard a grunt, and the sound of something falling.

Despite his fear, curiosity took precedence and allowed Ash to turn back and see what had happened. What he saw surprised him for the umpteenth time already.

The robed figure was now lying on the ground, prone with its face in the grass. What had caused the person to end up in that position was a mystery to Ash, and he approached it to get a better look and idea what happened.

Ash was now standing directly above the person, and he stared down, examining it with interest. The figure was not sprawled out on the ground, but rather, it seemed to have fallen straight onto its face from a standing position. The teenaged boy had half the mind to remove the hood on the figure and see its face. After a moment of deliberation, Ash finally made the decision to do such a thing, and he bent down to grasp the back of the hood.

Suddenly, the figure turned sideways and onto its back, causing Ash to recoil backwards with shock. Its face was shrouded by the hood that it wore, but Ash thought he could see a pair of black eyes through the darkness.

The person then brought its legs to its chest and kicked upwards, propelling its body into the air and landing on its feet into a stand. Ash was amazed at the person's dexterity momentarily, until he realized that the person seemed to be crouched slightly as if he were ready to strike.

And that was exactly what the robed figure did, as he leapt forwards towards Ash with inhuman agility. Ash's brain told him to dodge, but his legs would not perform the feat. The last thing the trainer remembered was a glistening object extending from the person's hand…

* * *

Ash snapped up into a sitting position and gasped deeply. His head felt like it was spinning as he looked straight ahead with wide eyes, expecting to still see the mysterious person.

Then his mind began to recollect, and he began realizing exactly where he was.

Looking around, Ash saw the familiar interior of a Pokémon Center dormitory. He was on the bottom bunk of the left bunk, covered warmly by a layer of blankets. Pikachu was sound asleep at his feet, snoring lightly. Across the small room was another bunk, which Brock was sleeping and snoring loudly on. Beams of light filtered through the single window and cast rays in between the two bunk beds.

Ash still breathed somewhat heavily, but his eyes had returned to their normal size. Beads of sweat dripped down his temples as he tried to understand what had happened.

"_What the-What the heck was all that?"_

The teenager pinched himself in the arm to be sure he was actually where he thought he was.

"_Alright, that was just… a dream. Just a dream."_

But the boy still could not understand the bizarre dream, and who or what the robed figure was. His anxiety began subsiding as his heartbeat slowed. Finally calm, but still confused about the strange events in the dream, or rather nightmare, he carefully pulled the covers off him, making sure not to disturb Pikachu.

Ash sat on the side of the bed and ruffled his black hair as if to shake his thoughts off. He glanced above the door at the analog clock and saw that it was 8:04 a.m. It was about time that everybody woke up he thought, so he walked over to Brock's bed and shook him lightly.

"Yo, Brock-o, rise and shine."

"Mmm, not now, honey. Five more minutes and I'll pleasure you all you like…" Brock mumbled with a goofy smile.

Ash jumped backwards at that, afraid Brock would actually do what he had just promised to him.

"Eh… maybe I'll just wake him up later…" Ash said with a nervous smile.

The trainer then walked back to his bunk, and carefully woke his Pokémon companion up, as he didn't want to be shocked by a grumpy electric mouse.

"Chaaaaa," yawned Pikachu.

"Heh, glad to see you could wake up," grinned Ash. "Unlike Brock over there."

"Chu," said Pikachu simply, as he was still rather tired after the long exciting day the day before.

"C'mon, let's just leave Brock to his… fantasies, and grab a bite, then head over to the hotel and meet up with Dawn and…"

Ash stopped midsentence as the second name he thought of hit him like a ton of bricks. The image of the previous night burned in his memory, and depression spread over him once again.

"… Actually, forget about breakfast. I'm not hungry. Let's just head over there."

"Pika…" said his Pokémon worriedly.

* * *

Sunlight beat down on Ash's hat as he trudged down the sidewalks towards the heart of the city, where the Lightcrown Plaza was located. Pikachu sat on his left shoulder and watched his trainer intently, feeling the same sadness Ash felt.

The morning of the second contest day brought much clamor in the streets. Even though the contest was to start at two in the afternoon, many people were still flocking towards the contest hall in the east. People excitedly chatted about the exhilarating day that was to come, but Ash paid no attention to them. His mind was glued to the images of the dance and of May and Altaïr.

His mind was blank yet full of white noise. The air was not particularly loud around him, but it felt as though something was screaming into his ears, allowing him no peace. He brought his hands up to his ears to attempt to block out the noise, but since it came from inside him, it remained.

"AGH, JUST STOP!"

Pikachu looked at his trainer with alarm as he had just erupted without warning. Several passerbys stared at him strangely as well, and whispered to each other about the seemingly irate boy.

Ash's eyes were clenched shut as he continued walking with his ears plugged. The sound only grew louder in his head the harder he tried to block it out. Pikachu began tugging on his hair to try to gain his attention, but Ash paid no heed.

Suddenly, the trainer felt a pair of hands push against his shoulders and stopped him in his tracks. He quickly opened his eyes, and saw the looming structure of the Lightcrown Plaza before him. Then he looked down and saw Officer Jenny with her arms on him and giving him an annoyed look.

"Excuse me, but you're just about to run into the tape we set around this scene," Officer Jenny said with authority.

"Huh?" was all Ash could respond with as he pulled his fingers out of his ears.

Ash began observing his surroundings and saw that in fact there was yellow police tape that created a border behind Officer Jenny.

He then noticed that the border was covering the entrance to the Lightcrown Plaza, and distress overcame him as he remembered that Dawn, May, and Altaïr were all inside. He figured that a crime had been committed and the police were on the scene.

"What happened here!? I-I need to get inside, my friends are inside!" exclaimed Ash.

"You can enter the hotel, but just not through the front entrance. Take the back entrance if you want to see your friends. As for what happened, we're still trying figure that out."

Ash began to open his mouth to ask for questions, but then the thought of May entered him, and he decided to drop his question and head over to the back entrance Officer Jenny had mentioned.

The teenaged boy hurriedly ran around the side of the building to the back, which was quite a great distance as the hotel was rather large. The back entrance was not as grand as the front, but it still served its purpose of being a luxury hotel's entrance.

The doors automatically opened as the boy and his Pikachu stepped in front of them, and Ash quickly ran into the lobby.

The last time Ash had entered hotel, it was from the front, which led to the large check in counter, many wide hallways leading to various rooms, and the large open lobby. However, from the back, Ash was already in the beautiful lobby, but he saw many blue uniforms and yellow tape near the front. He quickly made his way forward, around the furniture and foliage and met a small crowd that stood outside of the tape. He lightly pushed his way to the front to get a better view of what was going on. The scene he saw before him caused chills to shoot up his spine.

The side that Ash had arrived from was exactly how it was the last time he walked through the lobby, but the frontal area that he could now see looked to be in complete ruins. Tables and chairs were overturned, stuffing from couches littered the ground, silverware was scattered in the entire area. It looked as though there had been a brawl in the vicinity, which was actually a pretty large area after more observation by 

Ash. It looked like the entire area from the front doors to a couple meters behind the Milotic statue was sealed off by the police.

"_The Milotic statue…"_

Ash stared at it in amazement as it, too, seemed to have been through some destruction. Chips of the stone sculpture were chipped off and missing and the entire tail end of the Pokémon sculpture was missing. What could have done such a terrible act was all Ash could think of.

"Ash!"

The calling of his name brought back memories of his dream the night before, but the voice was not the same.

Ash spun around to see Dawn running dashing towards him through the crowd. He too, then began making his way towards her and eventually they met in the midst of the spectators.

"What happened here?!" Ash asked over the increasing murmur of the onlookers of the scene.

"I-I don't know!" Dawn's eyes showed hints of fear in them. "I just finished dressing when I heard commotion outside my room, and when I peeked outside, I heard some yelling about a break in or something."

Ash took a look again at the destroyed lobby and mutilated statue.

"This was no break in," he concluded. Dawn and Pikachu looked at him slightly surprised.

"Well, what could this have been, then?"

"Pika Pikapi!"

"I don't know for sure, but robbers wouldn't leave such a big mess for the police to search for clues. Something big must have gone down here… like Pokémon battle."

"Pokémon battle?" Dawn said with disbelief. "If there was a battle down here, I'm sure somebody like security would have heard."

"Yeah, you're probably right, Dawn. But something crazy must have happened." Ash then looked away to see if he could see anything interesting, but all he saw were policemen investigating the scene and spectators moving in and out.

Then, a thought struck the trainer.

"Uh, Dawn, have you by any chance seen…" but he had no need to finish his question.

A brunette wearing a red bandanna could be seen jumping over the yellow police tape, and into the restricted area. Almost immediately, a large policeman began running towards her in order to apprehend her.

"Hey you, girl, stop it right there!"

What May was up to was completely beyond Ash, Dawn, and Pikachu, and they could only watch dumbfounded as May dove under an intact table as if she was going for something down there. The policeman then grabbed her by the legs and pulled her out from under in a bit of a rough manner.

A bit _too _rough for Ash to watch.

Before Ash could think before he acted, he already found himself jumping the yellow tape like May had, and running towards the girl and the policeman, who had gotten May on her feet and held her arms tightly against her back.

"Hey, you! Let go of her, now!" roared Ash as he tackled the policeman.

The man and the boy both fell to the ground with a thud, while May jumped away from the tumbling bodies. When she recovered, she looked down at the ground and saw Ash being pinned down by the policeman.

"Ash!" she screamed, seeing him being handled by the large man that stood over him.

"You 'lil punk, did you know that you just assaulted an officer of the law?" the policeman growled malevolently.

Dawn had now entered the scene and ran up to the scuffle.

"What's going on in here?" yelled a female voice. All heads were turned at Officer Jenny, who had entered the hotel at hearing a report of the ongoing fight.

The large policeman pulled Ash up by his collar with a jerk while immobilizing his two hands behind his back.

"This kid here decided to assault me as I was apprehending this 'lil gal over here," he said while pointing to May with his free hand.

Officer Jenny took a look from May, then to Ash, then to Dawn, who was now standing right next to May.

"You do realize that these kids are merely adolescents, right?" asked the policewoman.

"Well, yeah…"

"And you do know that they're not criminals or anything like that, am I correct?"

"Um…"

"Unhand the boy," ordered Officer Jenny. The policeman immediately complied, releasing Ash from his grip.

"Next time I see you roughing up minors, you'll be thrown on patrol duty at ground zero. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes ma'am!" saluted the officer, before he quickly walked out of the scene.

"Now," began Officer Jenny as she turned to Ash, May, and Dawn. "That doesn't mean you kids are just allowed to charge into restricted police areas." Officer Jenny eyed the three with severity.

"I'm sorry, Officer Jenny," May stepped forward and clasped her hands in apology. "It was my fault. I uh, dropped something and it rolled into this area, so I went chasing after it…"

Ash and Dawn gave sideward glance at May, as they detected the lie in her tone. Officer Jenny took no notice, however, and continued admonishing the three teens.

"Well, next time, alert a police officer instead of jumping over the tape. I'm just going to let you all off with a warning," and with that, Officer Jenny turned to return to her post.

Ash, Dawn, and May gave relieved looks at each other, and made their way out of the area. Many eyes watched them from beyond the tape, which caused the three teens to feel nervous and slightly embarrassed, but they eventually reached the border and were about to go over it until Ash spotted something from the corner of his eye.

He turned his head to get a better view, and saw that there was a splatter of something red at the base of the Milotic Statue. The trainer squinted his eyes, and noticed that it seemed to be dried up.

"_Is that… is that blood?"_

"Ash, come on!" urged Dawn, who wanted to disappear from the staring crowd.

Ash peeled his eyes away from the red substance on the statue and quickly ran over to where Dawn was. He noticed that May was not with her.

"Where'd um, May go?" he asked with hesitantly as they crossed the tape.

"She said she was going to go back to her room, and get away from all the people here." Dawn answered.

"Oh…" Ash had the slight feeling that she had left in order to get away from only oneperson.

* * *

The elevator door opened with a ding as it reached the fifth floor. May stepped out of it and walked briskly to her room which was a good distance from the elevator due to the enormosity of the hotel.

She eventually reached her room, and pulled a keycard from her fanny pack. The keycard was slid into the lock, and a soft click sounded, signifying that the door was unlocked. May opened turned the knob and walked in, quickly closing the door behind her.

Inside the safety of her room, the coordinator made her way to a bed and seated herself on it. She had had her right hand clenched the entire time from the incident in the lobby to now, and felt the security she needed to open it again.

She opened her right hand and revealed what had caught her eye and caused her to create all the trouble downstairs. It was a red, thick object with translucent plastic around it. May knew very well what it was as she used her fingernails to grab hold of a small niche and pulled at it. A silver blade then emerged from the side of the object, and eventually was extended out, parallel to the plastic body.

It was Altaïr's pocketknife.

"_The same one he used to defend us from that gang."_

She observed it carefully as she remembered the only time she had seen it used by the absent teenager. There was no blood on the blade, as it must have been washed sometime after the fight with the hoodlums, figured May.

Questions began entering her head as she now had the peace and quiet she needed to think critically.

The girl began thinking about how the knife was where she found it, whether Altaïr had anything to do with the destruction downstairs, and where in the world the teenaged boy was, as she had not seen him at all yet.

"_Surely, he must have heard about what happened, and went to go check it out."_

May sat motionless on the bed as she stared at the knife that had delivered the final blow to the leading thug that they met. She still did not know of the man had died or not, but she figured that being cut in the shoulder wouldn't kill somebody.

Then, the fact that Altaïr could still be in his room hit her, and she stood up to leave her room. She opened the front door slowly, and peeked out, seeing nobody in the hallway. She then fully opened the door and stepped out, heading deeper into the complex of the Lightcrown Plaza towards where Altaïr's room was located.

A minute passed until she reached is door. May recalled the events of the previous night, but a strange force compelled her to seek the teenaged boy out, despite the awkward situation of the night before.

May brought a fist up and knocked on the door, but there was no answer after several seconds. She knocked again, this time harder, but still there was no response from inside.

Figuring that he was possibly in the bathroom or still asleep, May knocked on his door extra hard, and to her surprise, his door opened. She blinked once, and then realized that the door was not all the way closed but was slightly ajar. When she had knocked particularly hard, it caused the door to slip open. She deliberated on whether she should enter or not, and her need to talk to him got the better of her as she opened the door all the way and entered quietly.

The coordinator soon learned that her stealth was needless, as the room was unoccupied. The bathroom door to her left was open, and not a soul was in there. Nor was there a body in either of the beds. Having no more need to be in his room, May began turning around to exit until a series of beeps emitted from somewhere behind her.

The sound caught her attention, and she turned back to glance around for the source. Finally, she saw lights beeping on the desk in the corner of the room, and she quickly trotted toward it. On the desk was Altaïr's PDA that May had taken a look at the night before, and on the screen it had the words "New Message."

"I wonder…" May whispered.

The girl then brought a finger down on the screen and pressed the box that contained the new message, and a new window as opened up. She bent down closer to get a better look at the words on the screen.

_Report. Now._

The two simple words confused May, as she had no idea what "report" in that context meant, and who the message came from.

May then clicked an icon to close the message, which took her back to the main menu. The many text boxes and selections on the menu intrigued her greatly.

Before she could click on anything else, however, May heard a series of barks from outside the room in the direction of the balcony. The coordinator made her way over to the glass door and opened it. Stepping out onto the balcony, May could hear the barks clearly, and she could tell they were coming from below.

She leaned over the edge and shaded her eyes, as the sun was directly in front of her, and saw a large squad of police officers and Growlithe running down the street. Over the barks, she could hear Officer Jenny shouting.

"Alright, Growlithe, follow the scent of the blood and fan out with fifty meter intervals! This could be our only lead!"

"Blood?" said May to herself.

May watched for several more seconds as the Growlithe and police officers became smaller as they moved farther before returning to the interior of the room. Being interrupted by the police activity, May momentarily forgot what she was doing in Altaïr's room in the first place until she spotted his PDA again.

The complexity of the device was still beyond her knowledge to effectively use, but May figured she might as well click on something and try to take a look around. The fact that she was invading Altaïr's privacy completely eluded her.

The teenaged girl decided to click on a selection on the menu called "Maps," and the screen went blank momentarily. Then more text boxes with names of various places came up, and May read them each. Since she did not know most of the locations on the menu, she decided to touch the only one she knew; "Lightcrown City".

The screen went blank once again, but this time, another menu didn't appear. Instead, rays of light shot out of the screen, and created a larger plane about twice the size of the PDA that sat above the screen. Slowly, images began to grow out of the virtual plane, and after several seconds, holograms of buildings were completed. The holograms caused May to gasp in awe, as she had never seen technology such as that.

"This is… amazing…"

The holograms were of extremely clear quality, and May found herself admiring the translucent buildings that constituted the map. She also noticed the valley edges and fields outside of the part of the hologram with the most buildings. It was then that May realized that the location she was looking at was truly Lightcrown City, in a scaled down 3D image.

The awed coordinator wanted to examine more of the map, but small blue blinking dots on the landscape caught her eye first. She pinpointed each blinking dot, and noticed that they were at various buildings, some that she knew, some that she didn't.

"Here's one at the contest hall… and another at the Pokémon Center… and another at this hotel!"

May was enjoying her little location game until a large, red, blinking dot outside of the city attracted her attention.

She instantly turned her view towards the dot, and looked at it with curiosity. Without noticing, the girl began subconsciously bringing her right index finger closer to it, as if touching it would cause something to happen.

It did, as when her finger passed through it, a beep sounded, and the hologram zoomed into that position. May jerked backwards slightly as she thought she might have broken it, but then, the zoomed image became clear and details of the terrain could be seen. When the image was done buffering, two words above the map appeared. May read them to herself.

"Last… resort… What does that mean?"

She pondered on the meaning of the message and stared at the image blankly.

Suddenly, the location on the map seemed vaguely familiar to her. There was a river… and a bridge…

"Hey! This is the place that I camped on the first night I arrived!" she exclaimed.

It then became clearer to her, as she remembered that she had camped to the east of city, and the location shown to her was to the east. The coordinator remembered the lone path and bridge, and how she strayed off it to find a place to make camp.

"I wonder why this place is on his map… The dot is really close to the place I stayed, I think."

Another realization then struck her. The squad of police officers and Growlithe that she saw running outside were heading in the direction of the sun, which meant that they were heading east.

"Could this… be a coincidence?"

She took one more look at the hologram, and finally made up her mind.

"I'm going there."

* * *

**Afterthought**

I honestly don't know if the place Altaïr and May camped that first night was really to the east. I don't think I mentioned it in that chapter (Chapter 5), but since May entered from the east, I figured she camped there too.

I like making subtle hints and details like that, but then it's just so hard to remember every past detail I've written.

All in all, it's not that important though. Not like you all will be completely confused, since y'all probably don't remember these small details any more than I do.

Return of Team Rocket, yes! Well, actually, I don't really care so much for them, but hey, I was able to add them in so why not. I actually wrote that beginning part _after _I had written everything else, since I had planned to add them in the first place, but forgot when I started writing the chapter. It all works out though.

Title is self explanatory.


	22. Truth

**Foreword**

And now, some answers.

* * *

**Chapter 22 – Truth**

Ash and Dawn sat beside one another on a vacant couch near the back of the lobby, where it was not restricted. Pikachu sat in Ash's lap and rested his head on his trainer's knee, while Dawn sat to Ash's left, silently pondering the recent events that had just occurred, as well as the contest that was to begin in about five hours.

Ash had the brim of his hat over his eyes as he slouched on the couch. He did his best not to show it, but both Dawn and Pikachu knew that something was bothering him.

The trainer rewound his mind back to when he had tackled the policeman to defend May, and how she cried out his name when he was countered and pinned down. The tone of her voice reminded him of the other times that May yelled his name whenever he was in danger or she needed help. However, his name was the only thing that the coordinator had said to him, and the fact that she wasn't even directly talking to him wasn't reassuring.

A sinking feeling in the stomach and an ache in the heart pained Ash as he sat completely motionless. Dawn and Pikachu gave him concerned glances from time to time, but the depressed boy would take no notice of them.

Dawn sighed, deciding that whatever was on Ash's mind would stay there. She began playing with her Pokétch and stared blankly into the vast lobby since she and Ash were waiting for Brock to arrive. Dawn had contacted Brock shortly after their run in with the authorities, and she described the situation for him. Brock had immediately become concerned and told them he would be there ASAP.

She checked the time and saw that it was five after nine, a little less than an hour since she heard about the occurrence on the main floor. The pre-teen girl was feeling bored and decided to mess around with the applications on her Pokétch some more, so she brought her wrist up to her eyes and began pressing buttons with her other hand.

As Dawn toyed with her Pokétch, she noticed the elevator door opening and a person dressed in red step out. She lowered her wrist and focused on the person, seeing the person to be May. Dawn began observing curiously as the other coordinator looked around the lobby for several seconds, before then dashing out of the hotel.

"Hey, Ash?"

Ash gave a short grunt.

"I just saw May leave the hotel. I wonder where she could be going."

He grunted again.

Dawn then thought for a moment, and decided that getting Ash active would bring him to his normal self again, so she stood up and grabbed his arm from his side.

"C'mon, let's follow her and see where she's going!" chirped Dawn cheerily.

"Wait, whoa-!" Dawn had pulled Ash from where he sat on the couch and was dragging him along as she walked to the back entrance May had exited from. Pikachu jumped to the floor as his trainer stood up and quickly jumped onto Ash's shoulder.

"Dawn…" but Ash was unable to say anything as he suddenly found himself interested in where May was going as well.

The two of them stepped out into the sunlight and saw that the streets were already busy in the late morning. They turned their heads, looking for any sign of May. Pikachu decided to survey from the top of Ash's hat, and hopped on top, bringing a paw up to shield his eyes from the sun.

"Pi Pikapi!" exclaimed the Electric Mouse Pokémon, pointing down the street at a red bobbing bandanna.

"C'mon! We'll lose her!" Dawn pulled Ash by the arm while running in the direction May was heading.

Pikachu kept watch on May's head as she began to gain distance from them. It was more difficult for Ash and Dawn to weave their way through the crowd since there were two bodies to squeeze through the pedestrians.

More minutes of running and dodging passed as May's bandanna grew further and further away from Pikachu's view. It seemed like they were going to completely lose her trail until the setting suddenly changed around Ash and Dawn.

They were now out of the city and looking up the eastern side of the valley that Lightcrown was nestled in. The time during the chase seemed to go by so slowly, but it was several miles from the center of the city to the exterior, meaning they must have been moving about for a good quarter of an hour.

Looking a little ways up the valley, the trainer, coordinator, and Pokémon could see a figure dressed in red running up the side of the road. A good distance ahead of her was a group of blue-clad figures with a team of Growlithe in front.

Ash faced Dawn, and Dawn looked back. They nodded to one another and began running up the hill.

* * *

"_Those… policemen… run… fast…" _

May was gasping for breath as she was still giving chase to the Growlithe team that was becoming smaller as they continued their ascent up the two mile valley side. For her, this was the greatest distance she ever had to run in a single period.

The brunette began to feel her legs soften as they started feeling like jelly. She knew that she had reached her limit and had to stop running.

"_I gotta… stop… now," _thought May, as she came to a halt.

She was bent over with her hands on her thighs, feeling as though she had just run a marathon. Finally catching her breath, May looked up and brightened instantly.

Just as May had stopped running, she had reached the top of the valley, and now was looking at a vast forest in front of her.

Feeing reinvigorated, May felt the stress leave her legs, and she began to walk towards the forest before her.

The sunlight sent rays of heat onto the Earth, but the trees relieved the land from the light and created a cool atmosphere underneath. The shadows consumed the entire forest floor and gave the place a peaceful feel. The coordinator sighed as she entered the coolness and breathed in the fresh-smelling air.

Now relaxed, May recollected her memory to begin pinpointing the location which she had camped at during the first night.

"Well, there was this path that I'm on now, which led to a river and a bridge, so I should just follow this path first."

May suddenly realized that she was completely alone and had just talked to herself. The silence of the forest was unnerving, and the isolation crept into May. Feeling vulnerable, the coordinator took a Pokéball out of her fanny pack and called out a Pokémon. Soon, Eevee materialized from the ball and stood happily in front of her.

"Ee-ee!"

"Hey, Eevee." May bent down to pick up her fluffy Pokémon. She petted Eevee's soft fur and began moving along the path and deeper into the forest.

Moments of silence ensued as the girl walked with her Pokémon wrapped tightly in her arms. Eevee was cuddling her head with May's chest as she was oblivious of the meaning of this trip.

Eventually, May could hear running water, which indicated that she was near her checkpoint. She started jogging as the sound of water grew louder. Soon, up the path, she spotted the elevated bridge.

"Alright, we made it," May said to Eevee. "Now we just have to remember where we camped out that first night."

In the distance, May could hear barks echoing through the trees. The barks soon dissipated, and she clutched her Pokémon tighter, quickly making her way over the bridge.

"I think it was to the left now."

"Eevee!"

May stepped off the dirt path and slipped into the forage that marked the border for the path. Taking a quick glance around, she decided to start her search along the side of the river, as she remembered her campsite was not far from it.

The teenaged girl walked along the riverbank as she tried to recall any landmarks she may have come across. It seemed like May had been walking for hours until she came across a familiar sandy bank.

"This is where I got water and cleaned myself up…" May whispered.

She then turned away from the river and wandered into the trees.

"It shouldn't be far from here…"

It wasn't long until the girl stepped into a small clearing where the dead remains of a fire were visible, as well as a small tree trunk on its side which could serve as a seat.

"This is it," declared May. With one hand, as she was still holding on to Eevee, she reached into her fanny pack to pull out Altaïr's PDA that she had taken with her from his room. Eevee watched curiously as her trainer navigated the menu once again and was at the holographic map of Lightcrown and its surrounding landscape.

"Looks like I just have to go north a tiny bit." May shut off the PDA and slipped it back into her pack.

May stepped into the thicket once again and fought her way through the foliage as it was becoming thicker as she was going further into the middle of no where.

Rays of sunlight could be seen by May several meters away, despite the mass of vegetation. She picked up her pace and soon stumbled into another small clearing.

At first glance, nothing was special about the clearing, and nothing moving could be seen. But as May moved across the soil, a black mass entered her view. She turned her head toward it and saw that it was under the shadow of a large tree, and seemed to be leaning against it.

May took one step towards the object and was instantly knocked onto her back by a brown and green blur. She grunted in pain as she held Eevee close to her chest to prevent her from flying away.

"Eevee Ee!" the little Eevee cried out as her trainer had just been attacked.

The green and brown blur appeared once again, and a pair of large brown eyes stared into May's sapphire eyes. May held her breath as the brown eyes pierced into her, but as her focus returned, she the body of a familiar Pokémon appeared.

"Leaf-Leafeon?" she whispered, the fear leaving her.

The Verdant Pokémon made no sound or movement as she jumped away from May and ran back to the black clump by the tree. May picked herself up from the ground and placed Eevee on the ground.

The girl silently stared at the black mass on the ground, before beginning to take small steps toward it. Leafeon seemed to be standing next to the mass protectively, but she made no hostile motions at the coordinator nearing her.

As May came within a few meters of what Leafeon was guarding, she was able to make out the shape of it. The coordinator was now only a couple steps away from it and was now able to see the mass in close detail. It was a body.

May knelt down in front of the body and brought her hands up to the hood that shrouded the person's face. Before she could pull the hood down, chills shivered down her back as the feeling of dread begun to overtake her. Eevee watched with concern while making soft whimpers.

Against her own fear, May summoned up whatever courage remained inside her, and pulled down the hood.

May gasped.

Dawn and Ash gasped from behind the bush they hid behind.

* * *

"_Hey."_

"…"

"_How are you? It's been a while..."_

"_I'm ok."_

"_Only ok?"_

"_Yeah."_

"_I see…"_

"_So what are you doing here?"_

"_What? Can't I just pop in for a visit?"_

"_You haven't in a while."_

"_I've been busy."_

"_Alright, but you don't need to take time off to… visit."_

"_Are you sure about that?"_

"…"

"_You still act that way…"_

"_What way?"_

"_That way… the way you've always acted towards me... ever since…"_

"…"

"_You know what I'm talking about."_

"_It was for both of our benefit."_

"_How do you know that?"_

"… _I just do."_

"_You never asked me."_

"_It just wasn't meant to be."_

"_That doesn't mean you had to just…"_

"_Leave?"_

"_Yeah…"_

"…"

"_Why do you have to be… so cold?..."_

"…"

"…_like ice?"_

"_Because it's my element."_

"_Don't give me that. I know you better than that."_

"_You sure about that?"_

"_I know that you…"_

"…"

"…_care."_

"_Oh really?"_

"_Well, it seems like you've been quite caring lately."_

"_That's because…"_

"_Because?..."_

"_Because…"_

"_That's ok, I don't need you to give me your reason; I already know it."_

"_No you don't."_

"_I think I do."_

"…"

"_And I think it's time that you wake up. They're worried about you."_

"…"

"_I'm worried about you."_

"_Don't be."_

"_Doesn't mean I'm not."_

"…"

"_I'm going to go now."_

"_Ok."_

"_Bye."_

"…_Bye."_

* * *

The darkness was dispersing. A thin line of light appeared and was growing larger as warmth flowed through in a circuit. Vibrations to the left and right rumbled lightly. An appealing odor perforated, and tickled the area under the band of light, which was still becoming larger. Saltiness was detected beneath everything else, unappealing and choking.

Then consciousness began returning. A light bulb in a lamp could be seen above. Feelings began returning to the extremities. Voices could be heard in the distance. The smell of disinfectants lingered in the air. Salt could be tasted by the tongue.

Then perception was acquired. The mind began functioning once again, and an identity was linked.

Altaïr opened his eyes, but had to squint as a bright light shined into them. He felt warm blankets covering his body, but aches and soreness vexed him. Voices could be heard clearly, indicating that the source was near. The scent of alcohol and other chemicals permeated his nasals, as well as another familiar smell that also was in his mouth. The boy gathered the saliva in his mouth and swallowed it down, tasting that unpleasing flavor.

"Six deep cuts, three stabs wounds, many other smaller cuts and bruises, a fractured rib, loss of much blood, and…"

Altaïr quickly snapped into attention as the clouds of his mind disseminated.

"…one gunshot wound. It's amazing this kid is still living."

Then the trainer's body snapped upwards into a sitting position, but intense pain shot through his spine and into his brain, causing a splitting headache among the external pain he felt.

"He's awake!"

"And his pulse is spiking!"

"Somebody stabilize him before he does more harm to himself!"

Arms overtook the boy forced him to lie back down into the bed. A growl escaped Altaïr's throat as he attempted to retaliate, but a sting was felt in his right arm. He looked at it and saw that a needle had been stuck in it. He then looked up and saw the face of a male doctor. Altaïr felt his mind turn into jelly as the rest of his body softened. He was only able to give the doctor one more grunt before he lost perception and consciousness once again.

* * *

Ash sat with Pikachu on his lap in a cushioned bench in the waiting room. His mind was in a haze; nothing made sense anymore. All the events that were occurring, they did a number on the boy's mental capacity. What bothered him the most was not about the circumstances Altaïr was found, however.

The trainer raised his head and glanced across the waiting room at the only other occupant present, May. Her head was down like his was, and her hands on her thighs, and her sapphire eyes were unseen in the shadow cast across that portion of her face. Those beautiful sapphire eyes Ash had yet to look into…

Pikachu felt his trainer's heaviness in himself as well, and cooed softly. Ash gently stroked Pikachu's fur as he took his eyes off of the coordinator and looked back down into his lap.

"_I think… I'm beginning to understand… why I feel what I feel."_

The recent memories of all of Brock's teasing and hinting entered him, and Ash began analyzing all of them.

"_He… knew all along… even before I even knew… All this time it was just a strange feeling in my chest and stomach every time her name was mentioned. Every time I thought about her. Even every time when I saw a Pokémon that she owned as well. But now I know what that feeling is."_

Ash took a small peek at May once again, then quickly looked at Pikachu, speaking to his Pokémon.

"You know what I'm feeling too, don't you?"

"Pi."

Then the image of Altaïr and May together shattered his peaceful thoughts, and depression set into him once again.

"But… I'm too late."

"Cha…"

"I'm too late."

* * *

May sat alone on her bench in the corner of the waiting room, looking down at her gloved hands in her empty lap. The past couple hours seemed to meld together as she attempted to recall them. The leaving of the hotel, the following of the police, the wandering in the forest, the discovery of Leafeon, the discovery of a body…

Everything else was a blur after that. There was screaming, yelling, calling, crying, running. Before May knew it, she was waiting in the hospital, sitting on the very seat she was sitting on.

"Altaïr… What happened?" she whispered quietly to herself, replaying the chain of events after her discovery that led her to where she currently was.

The image of Altaïr's face being revealed from the hood returned, and May remembered herself gasping and stepping back. His eyes were closed, and seemed to be contorted in pain. Then May saw the thing that caused her to scream; the blood. He was lying in a pool of it, and May saw the pictures in her head of red splashes all over his robe, on the grass, on the trunk of the tree…

As she screamed, two figures jumped out of a bush from behind her and ran up to her yelling. It was Ash and Dawn. They asked what was wrong and spotted Altaïr's blood stained body as well. Ash took charge and used his PokéNav to call the Lightcrown Police, and a unit was soon dispatched onto their position. Paramedics accompanied the officers and soon, Altaïr was taken on a stretcher and to the Lightcrown Hospital.

That had all occurred a little over an hour ago, and still May, nor Ash and Pikachu, the only other two in the waiting room, had not heard any word about the teenaged boy's condition. Brock was contacted during the wait and had to rush over from the Lightcrown Hotel, where he was supposed to meet Ash and Dawn in the first place. When Brock arrived, he quickly asked what had been going on, and Dawn explained the entire story to him, while Ash and May awkwardly stood on opposite sides of Dawn. After the story was finished, they all decided to take seats around the waiting room and wait for any word on how Altaïr was doing. About a half hour into the waiting, Dawn and Brock decided to go out and pick up some food, as it was noon.

Now only May, Ash, and Pikachu remained in the waiting room, the two humans sitting completely across the room from one another.

May sighed as deep concern stretched across her chest, and she felt herself quivering slightly. While Altaïr was being placed on the stretcher, May felt tears well up in her eyes. It was frightening for her as she didn't know whether the boy that had shown so much care towards her was still alive or not, but that fear was alleviated when the paramedics announced that they could feel a pulse. Dawn was silent, and 

anxiety was present at her face at the time. Ash had disappeared into the forest for a short amount of time when the paramedics and police arrived.

The thought of Altaïr dying still haunted May, even though the doctors had told them that all his wounds were just flesh wounds, and no vital organs were damaged. She felt helpless just knowing that he had been lying out in the middle of the forest, bleeding for who knows how long. How Altaïr came to be in that condition was another mystery to May. There was that event several days ago when Altaïr was able to take on a group of thugs and defeat them all. What made her in awe, yet somewhat intimidated, if not afraid, of him, was when he had whipped out his pocketknife and stabbed the leader in the shoulder.

"_The pocketknife that I have with me right now…"_

Altaïr's pocketknife had been kept inside May's fanny pack ever since she swiped it from under the table at the hotel. She made a note to herself to return it to him whenever they were alone.

May heard a shuffle, and looked up to see Ash rising from his seat. She watched him coyly as he turned towards the main doors and headed through them, and out of the room. She was now alone.

The coordinator was about to sink back into her thoughts when she heard the sliding doors of the patients' wing slide open. She whirled her head around and saw a doctor entering the waiting room. It had to be about Altaïr, since she and the others had been waiting to hear about the news.

The doctor, a short middle aged man who was already balding, spotted May all alone in her corner. He smiled warmly and made a motion that signaled her to enter the patients' wing. May nodded and stood up, walking towards the doors.

* * *

"_Amazing, I've never seen any human being heal this fast!"_

The nurse that was checking on Altaïr's condition stared wide eyed at the wound on the boy's arm. Altaïr was conscious once again and took no notice of the nurse as he stared straight at the ceiling.

"_The diameter of this wound was two inches when he arrived, and now it's only one! I have to report this to the doctor."_

"Alright, it seems like you're already making progress, Altaïr." The nurse smiled sweetly, trying to hide her wonder. Altaïr gave a single dismissive grunt and the nurse stepped out of the room. On her way out, a brunette wearing a red bandanna pushed past her into the room.

"_Hehe, he's got a cute girlfriend."_

Altaïr heard the second person enter the room and he tilted his head to the left and saw May. His face was impassive as she looked at him apprehensively.

May examined the boy who was wearing the usual light blue patient's outfit that covered his body on the front completely. She had been to hospitals before and knew that coverage was absent on the backside, though she never exactly knew why. Blankets covered his lower body but she could still see the gruesome wounds that were present on his arms. May tore her eyes away from that part of his body and re-centered her view on his face.

His face was also scuffed up, and light bruises and cuts could be spotted as well, but May noticed that he still retained most of his original look, and may even look a little more rugged that way.

The girl began approaching the bed, and clasped her hands in front of her. Altaïr simply looked with his black eyes that betrayed no thought and waited for her. She was now right beside the bed and the two of 

them stared at one another. After about five seconds of that, Altaïr broke the contact and turned his view at the ceiling.

May now looked at the side of his head, wondering what she should say. She said the first thing that came to mind.

"Are… you ok?"

Altaïr didn't alter his gaze as she asked the question. He simply lay there silently for several seconds until answering.

"Mm."

"Oh! I have something that belongs to you," May blurted out suddenly, remembering her mental note she made earlier. She quickly reached into her fanny pack and pulled out the pocketknife from one of the front pockets. As May pulled it out, she took one last look at it, and noticed that there was red residue on the edge where she had folded the blade back in. It intrigued her slightly as she hadn't taken the time to examine the knife when she had first obtained it, but she let that thought go as she brought the pocketknife over Altaïr's eyes.

Altaïr still did not move as May dangled the object over his face, and she sighed as she placed it on the stand next to his bed.

"So…" began May, but she was soon cut off by an opening door behind her. She twirled her head around to see Brock, Dawn, Pikachu, and Ash standing at the entrance. Their faces were solemn as they looked hesitant to enter.

May was about to beckon them all in when Altaïr's deep voice sounded.

"Good, you're all here."

The entire room seemed to go even quieter than it already was.

"I think now is the time to tell you all the truth."

* * *

**Afterthought**

To be continued next chapter.


	23. Goodnight, Goodbye

**Foreword**

It has been way too long, so finally here it is. Direct continuation from last chapter, and a ton of story elements stuffed in. I just hope it's not all too sudden or rushed. If it is, I might as well have just ruined the story.

* * *

**Chapter 23 – Goodnight, Goodbye**

The four visitors had grabbed chairs from around the room and situated themselves around Altaïr's bed, staring at him intently for him to begin what he had to say. The room was quiet, and barely a breath could be heard as the visitors felt themselves become tense and jittery. All the strange occurrences, all the mysterious events, all the dangers, were about to be explained by the wounded teenager.

Ash did his best to put on a tough demeanor, but his eyes betrayed the nervousness and fright that pestered him. Pikachu felt his trainer's anxiety, and hid with ears drooped behind Ash's shoulder. Brock sat stiffly with his legs crossed on his seat, attempting to predict what Altaïr may want to tell them. Dawn had her hands clasped together in her lap with her body leaned forward slightly, awaiting the tale that was about to be told.

And finally, May sat with her hands crossed across her chest and slightly shivered, as if the air was freezing cold even though it wasn't. Nobody but May had witnessed as many things about Altaïr as she had, and now all the answers to his being were about to be answered. The suspense was killing her, but at the same time, she was afraid of what she would hear.

Altaïr sat motionless in a sitting position on his bed. He merely stared with his black eyes at the opposing wall, not taking a look at any of the people that sat around him. Part of him regretted saying as much as he did moments ago, but part of him knew that he had to say everything, for he knew the consequences of keeping mum.

Then, Altaïr snapped out of his trance and his eyes refocused on his surroundings. It was time to do what must be done.

"You all know my history, am I correct?"

Three humans and a Pokémon nodded their heads as one made no movement

"Well, as a quick recap-," Altaïr started, remembering that he hadn't mentioned anything to May before. "-I am an orphan, abandoned by whoever my parents were on Mount Coronet. An old hermit found me in the cold and took me in, and he became my 'father.' I discovered Eevee one day in the dead of winter and we became fast friends. Inseparable. When I was 10, I went down and begged for my trainer's license, as I had no proof of my age, and me and Eevee set out for our journey."

Even though the tale was abridged, May still felt absorbed in the tale and ceased her shivering at the warm story.

"We trained hard and we eventually obtained the eight Sinnoh gym badges, and I also caught five more Eevees and evolved them. I returned home with only my first Eevee one day for reasons still unknown to me, and an avalanche fell upon us. Eevee was swept away and I searched for him for days, only to have him return to me as a Glaceon. And after that is when I entered the Sinnoh League Competition…"

Altaïr stopped his storytelling and looked around at every person in the eye with stony eyes. Each of the listeners felt a chill run up his or her spine as he looked at each of them one at a time. He took one breath, and opened his mouth to speak again.

"And that's all I really told you guys. You three know that I was defeated in the first round-," Altaïr turned to look at May. "-and now you do too. Then I said that I got depressed and suicidal, but remembered my promise to Glaceon, which was to never leave him, and then I said I decided to take a hiatus from the leagues and train for three whole years." Altaïr paused and looked at everyone once again.

"But… I never mentioned what happened within that time period… or even what happened right after my defeat."

That caused everybody to lean in and put their entire focus into Altaïr's words. Altaïr seemed to not notice the action and moved on with a darker tone.

"I told you all that the reason why I decided against suicide was because of my promise to Glaceon, but I never actually stated why I took that break from competing in leagues."

Altaïr began to shift uncomfortably in his position, as if he was looking for the right thing to say. It was unusual for him to look as nervous as he did, and his audience definitely took notice, but still remained silent.

"Well…" the teenager looked around at each person once again, took a deep breath, and made up his mind.

"I was approached. By a man. A man that would change my life forever."

* * *

A young boy with unruly black hair, a pair of black sports shorts, and a plain white t-shirt, sat dejectedly on a bench. It was midday, and the boy had just exited a battlefield in which he had just been soundly defeated in a Pokémon battle. The boy sat with his head looking into the ground, and his eyes were unseen due to the shadows cast by his hair. In his hand, he held a single teal Pokéball, the Pokéball which held his best friend. A drop of water fell onto the Pokéball, and the boy's grip on it became tighter.

"Say there, what's got you down there, kid?"

The depressed boy looked up and saw a man wearing a formal business suit and brown hair slicked back with gel. The man was clean shaven and looked to be in his twenties. A black suitcase was in his right hand while his left hand was stuffed in the pocket of his suit.

The boy that the man spoke to turned his head back down and continued staring at his Pokéball with sad eyes. He fidgeted with the object and did his best to ignore the man, though a slight interest on what the man wanted piqued him.

"So, not gonna say anything to me? That's nice."

Stepping a bit to the left, the man stood directly in front of the juvenile and allowed himself to cast a long shadow over the boy. The young boy felt the pit of his stomach swell in anxiety, not knowing what the man wanted with him.

"The name is Altaïr, correct?" the man continued on without waiting for the boy's reply. "I saw your battle. Quite interesting indeed."

Altaïr's grip on his Pokéball hardened as he recalled the humiliating battle he had just had to suffer through. A pulse shot through his veins as his frustration toward his own failure boiled him. Then the frustration turned into rage, and the young boy began to sweat and feel hatred for the world inside of him. He felt like punching the man before him, even though he still did not know the man's purpose for approaching him. Gritting his teeth, Altaïr looked up at the man with as much resentment as possible.

The man stared straight into Altaïr's eyes but disregarded the look of hatred he received. "I am not here for games, kid," the man said with seriousness. "I am here to offer you a business proposition. And no, do not ask for my name, or who I am, or what I do, as that is not important. Only answer yes, if you are interested in hearing me out, or no, if you want me to leave."

The sudden flow of words at Altaïr surprised him, causing his eyes to falter. He quickly shook it off and resumed his persona of hostility. Then the boy spoke his first words to the man.

"What can you offer _me, _a loser? A failure at Pokémon training?" Altaïr's eyes narrowed.

"Now that's not the answer to the question I asked you, so answer me simply yes… or no…"

The boy took several seconds to consider before finally answering.

"Yes."

"Good, I thought you might." The man flicked a very faint sneer, or so it seemed to be to Altaïr, but it was gone before he could get a second look.

"I am here to offer you a job-"

"A job?" the boy interjected. "Aren't I a little young to be having a job? And anyway, I'm a Pokémon trainer."

"I thought you said you were a failure as a Pokémon trainer." That statement shut Altaïr up.

"So, continuing on, I have a job to offer you. This job is no normal job. There are many risks, and danger is always present. Death is not uncommon in this occupation." The man saw Altaïr slowly gaining more and more interest in his speech, and knew he was achieving his goal.

"However, even with all these, inconveniences, for lack of a better word, I am thinking that you will accept this occupation."

"And why is that?" asked Altaïr, testing the man.

"Because in this job, you can prove yourself worthy. You can prove that you are strong. Unbeatable. You can prove that you are not an insignificant weakling."

A gleam flashed in Altaïr's eyes as the words passed through his mind. Before him stood a man that claimed to offer him a promise out of the hole in his life. Before him was a chance to gain strength and self worth.

"_Is this-Is this what I'm looking for? After my defeat, I realized that I'm a nothing. But now in front of me stands the chance to be rid of my weaknesses and take on power. All my life, I have been a nobody, alone in the world, but now, with this, I can prove myself… to the world."_

The young boy ceased his contemplation and looked into the man's eyes once again. This time not with hostility and hatred, but of renewed vigor and determination.

"You have my life," stated Altaïr simply.

The man nodded and held out his suitcase with one arm. He undid the lock with his other hand to open it, and he reached inside.

"Welcome to the PDI."

A hand grabbed Altaïr from behind and the lights went out.

* * *

"_The PDI…_" May recognized those letters instantly, as they were the same as the ones on Altaïr's PDA.

"What does 'PDI' stand for?" Brock questioned carefully.

"Pokémon Defense Initiative."

"What is that?" blurted out Dawn, as the three words made no sense to her.

"Well, I was just about to explain what the PDI is, and what my job is."

The teenager's audience shut their mouths and patiently waited for Altaïr to continue. Answers taunted the foursome as they thought of all the questions and thoughts they have had about Altaïr over the past few days, but none of them were prepared for what they were about to hear.

"The PDI is a private military corporation, or PMC. Yes, even though the current world is at peace, there are still private militaries ready to be hired at a moment's notice. If any of you know about history, you would know that the last major war occurred over 300 years ago, so the idea of war is foreign to people today. The only visible threat to the public today is gangs like Team Rocket."

The three younger listeners were somewhat taken aback but also confused at the content Altaïr was explaining, but they remained quiet. Brock however, began realizing what was going on, but he kept his cool to prevent any panic among his younger companions.

"So basically, the PDI is just a group of mercenaries," analyzed Brock.

"Not quite, since the PDI only sells its services to the government. Nobody else. There are other smaller PMCs out there, but the PDI is the biggest and is often times sent out to erase the existence of the smaller PMCs that provide services to terrorist groups or gangs. However, the existence of the PDI is kept under secret since the government wants to maintain the illusion of peace."

"The illusion of peace?" asked Ash with confusion.

"I say illusion because there is still military action being carried out covertly whenever the problem arises. And it's not small problems like street gangs or even the bigger crime syndicates, but problems like other PMCs selling services to dangerous organizations, or others that have… a special case… that require more manpower and firepower."

The two girls of the group stared blankly at Altaïr as he explained the new information. Neither of them had a concept of war or military, as that knowledge was never presented to them in their youth. Ash and Pikachu had their mouths slightly agape at the facts they were hearing. Brock however, sat motionless and gave no reaction.

"And now, there is exactly that type of problem occurring right now."

The four listeners suddenly felt fearful at the prospect of a dangerous threat that required military personnel to deal with it. Both Dawn and May subconsciously leaned in towards Ash. Altaïr now sat up straighter and stared straight into the wall opposite from him, not looking at a single other soul.

"There is an organization out there, The Brotherhood of Abolitionists, or just called The Brotherhood for short, that has risen to become a serious threat to the security of not only people, but Pokémon alike."

The information shocked the listeners violently, and no response could be procured from them.

"The Brotherhood is an organization that believes Pokémon catching and training is enslavement, and they want to rid the world of this slavery through some sort of means. They call trainers, coordinators, breeders, whoever, the enslavers, and they believe that such people should be purged."

"That's not right!" Ash exclaimed. "We're not enslaving Pokémon! Our Pokémon are our friends, and they want to be with us, isn't that right Pikachu?"

"Pika Pikapi!" Pikachu shot a peace sign with two fingers.

"Well, that's how most of the world thinks I'm pretty sure, but there's still a rather large group that believes otherwise, and they have formed The Brotherhood. I'm not sure of what their plan is, but the PDI has been doing its best to gather intelligence and prepare to combat this threat."

Altaïr's audience did not know how to react to the supposed threat that their seemingly peaceful world contained. Nervous glances were set to one another and the tension in the room stood high.

"And I'm an integral part of it."

* * *

"And welcome to your new home in the PDI."

The blindfolds were removed from the younger Altaïr's eyes and what he saw around him was vastly different from the setting he was just at hours ago. He had only regained consciousness minutes before, but the blindfolds had still suppressed his vision and he had no idea what was going on. Now before him was a room similar to a solitary confinement cell with a single small bed and a sink and toilet.

"I apologize for the… rough procedure to bring you here, but as always, it is for security purposes."

Altaïr said no words as he blankly stared at the room as if he was thoughtless, but on the inside, he was teeming with excitement and a bit of anxiety at the new life to which he was to embark on. Finally, he would be able to escape his old existence that he despised calling his life, and prove himself to the world and most importantly, himself.

The door to his cell opened once again and a man in military clothing entered. The man wore a green camouflage uniform and wore a simple hat on his head. He was clearly bald as no hair came out the sides of the hat, as was expected of all military personnel. The man was tall, built, and his eyes radiated the essence of violence and combat. He walked over to Altaïr with his heavy boots that clanked as he took each step and towered over him.

"So, this the new scrub?" growled the soldier.

"He's it," stated the suited man plainly.

"Not much muscle on you, eh? And not short, but not tall either. You sure he's the right one?"

"_Right one?"_

"He's it. Now stop asking questions and do your job." The man's words were trite and cold as he gave a look that even caused the soldier to shudder.

"Yessir. C'mon kid, you'll see what _real _training is like," the main chuckled as he pushed Altaïr out the door.

* * *

"Thus began my training, for an entire year. I would train alone under military guidance for six months, then with my Pokémon for another six. After that, I was deemed ready to join the force and was assigned to the ISA Squad."

"ISA? What's that mean?" May asked, which was the first time she had done so through the entire monologue.

"Intelligence, Sabotage, and…"

Altaïr seemed to hesitate slightly, but he cleared his throat and continued on promptly, as if nothing had happened.

"Assassination."

The four listeners and Pokémon all displayed their shocked states in different manners. Dawn gasped audibly, putting her hand to her mouth, May took a sharp intake of breath as she tensed her body, Ash swiftly stood up and had his eyes wide open, and Brock leaned heavily forward in his chair. The thought that Altaïr was an assassin had crossed their minds during their entire encounter with him, but now to some who had witnessed his abilities, the role began to match.

"ASSA-," Ash was promptly cut off by Brock's hand.

Brock looked sternly at Ash and shook his head, nonverbally telling him to contain himself. Ash nodded, and sat back down in his seat with Pikachu on his shoulder.

"And I believe this is all I can tell you now without endangering us all here further," stated Altaïr as he glanced up and an analog clock and saw the time to be four in the afternoon.

"I suppose you two forfeit your rankings in the contest?"

The two females in the group nodded and each blushed slightly. Ash saw May blush and he immediately began to feel his heart sink again.

"We… wanted to make sure you were ok…" said Dawn sheepishly.

"Yeah… you were just in such a terrible condition…" added May shyly.

"Then this makes things much more convenient."

"Huh? Convenient?" asked Brock in puzzlement.

"This is for all of your own well being. Good night."

"Oh shi-, Pikachu! Thund-." But Ash's command was cut short as a scent wafted through the room. It was a sweet scent that smelled of the most expensive perfumes, but it also held another trait to it.

The last thing Ash could remember were his eyes drooping and Pikachu slipping off his shoulders. His next vision was of Altaïr standing above him, looking down. Ash could not get a clear view of his face, as his vision had become blurry, but he thought could make out a face of regret on Altaïr. Then, all went black.

From behind a table, Leafeon stepped out and showed herself to her trainer. She gave a little nod, to which Altaïr replied to with a nod back.

"Good job Leafeon," said Altaïr as he recalled her into her green Pokéball.

The teenaged boy grabbed his backpack from the chair it hung on, and hooked Leafeon's Pokéball in its usual position on the single front strap. He then shouldered his backpack, and prepared to make his leave of the hospital, but before doing so, he made one look back at the four sleeping humans and Pokémon. Altaïr sighed deeply as he felt both necessity and slight remorse at the act he had just committed, but that feeling didn't linger for long as he knew he had an objective to fulfill.

"_I'm sorry, but this is to protect you all, and allow myself to follow the path set for me."_

Altaïr stepped out the door and closed it gently, thinking one last time about if what he did was right.

"_It is. I have to complete my mission. And it's not the one I was assigned."_

"_Goodbye."_

**END OF PART 1**

* * *

**Afterthought**

Ooo, more mystery.

There was actually more I wanted to write in this chapter, but I decided to exclude it because of the overall story's purposes. Vague, yeah, but someday in the future, the distant future, it'll be clear. So yup, that's the official end to Part 1: Neo Expedition.

Again, I just hope it's not too rushed.

And yes, it's a coincidence that this chapter was released on the same day Metal Gear Solid 4 was released (if any of you know about the game, you'll know why I mentioned this).


	24. Part 2: Neo Revelation: Exodus

**Foreword**

Welcome to Part 2 – Neo Revelation.

The shippyness that you all have waited for is nearing.

But be patient a bit longer ;-).

* * *

**Chapter 24 – Exodus**

"Unghh…"

A person began regaining consciousness after a deep dreamless slumber. How the slumber was induced was unknown, but it definitely didn't feel natural to the riser. The person opened his eyes and noticed that he was lying on a cold floor, so he picked himself up slowly. Rubbing his squinty eyes, the person yawned loudly and stretched his limbs out.

"Hadda' nice nap?"

The formerly sleeping person whirled around in alarm and spotted a man sitting on a chair in the corner of the room. He was a man not yet his middle ages but over his teenaged years, as he had the evening shadow of a beard shaven in the morning and short, oily brown hair. The man looked extremely well built and had an overall hardened look to him.

"Brock, is it?" The man's voice was also quite low and gruff.

Brock blinked once, though was not obvious that he did so, and nodded cautiously.

"Yeah, that's me…" Brock backed it slightly and grabbed a hypodermic needle from the cart behind him.

"No need to be alarmed, kid. Altaïr arranged for me to help extract you guys." The man stood up and his attire could now be clearly viewed. He wore a heavy dark blue and black vest, probably bulletproof, noted Brock, which had many pockets on the front for magazines of ammunition. A couple of hand grenades could also be spotted hooked into his vest. Under the vest, the man had a dark blue jacket and black gloves on his hands. Looking down, Brock saw that he wore heavy black urban camouflage pants and boots. On his waist, the man had a gun strapped to his right side in a holster, and a radio on his left. The gun left Brock in an uneasy position, despite the man saying he was an associate of Altaïr.

"Ya' look scared," chuckled the man. "Well, I guess introducing myself would ease some of that, but I suggest you wake up your friends first before we move along."

Brock silently complied and began bending down to wake his companions one at a time through shakes and calls. Soon, after much eye rubbing, yawning, and questions about the stranger, the four travelers and Pokémon were seated in the seats that they had sat in while listening to Altaïr's tale, but now facing towards the man.

"Alright, first off, name's Dunning, Gabriel Dunning, but just call me Gabe, or Captain Dunning, or whatever. Second, Altaïr called me in to help you guys get outa' here safely. Third, I'm the captain of the Lightcrown SWAT Team, which is why I got this gear on, and am called a captain."

"Um, excuse me, Captain Gabe?" said Dawn as she raised her hand politely. The captain grunted in acknowledgement. "What do you mean Altaïr called you to get us out of here?"

"He didn't exactly fill me in on all the details, as he was in quite a rush, but all he said was that you guys were in danger and need to get out of here safely."

"Danger!?" exclaimed everyone else simultaneously.

"From what!?" Ash almost shouted.

"And I'll say again that he didn't give me all the details."

"Wait a minute…" Brock cut in. "Are you part of the PDI?"

"No, as I repeat myself, AGAIN," Captain Dunning emphasized the last word clearly. "I am the captain of the Lightcrown SWAT Team. And yes, Lightcrown has a SWAT Team because of the large scale gang problems that occasionally occur."

"Then how does Altaïr know you?" Brock continued on interrogating.

"What, do you not trust me?" Captain Dunning crossed his arms.

"Not until you tell us everything we want to know," Brock said with as much determination as he could. He knew that with the strange occurrences that they have been going through and the information they heard from Altaïr, enemies of the disappeared boy could have tracked him to the hospital they were at, which would mean they would have seen Brock and the gang were associated with Altaïr. Brock now understood the danger that Captain Dunning was speaking about, but it seemed that Ash, Dawn, and May weren't thinking the same things as he was, so he decided he would keep his concerns to himself to avoid frightening his younger friends.

Captain Dunning nodded as he began to see what Brock's intentions.

"Alright, year or so ago, we were having a huge problem with the two major gangs of this city; The King's Men, and The Hand of Light. A little background info, the King's Men own the entire old sector of Lightcrown as well as a chunk of the new sector, while the Hand of Light owns a large chunk downtown, so they're a fair distance apart. But one day, each of the gang's top leader was assassinated by the other, and a huge war began to erupt on the streets of the main sector, the area where the most tourists go. Many civilians were killed as the first shots were fired, and the SWAT Team was instantly called to try to quell the conflict. I was only a sergeant at the time, so I was in the heat of the battles. Now Altaïr comes in when my unit is wiped out by a deadly crossfire and I become the only survivor, pinned down in the middle of the street under a car. That crazy kid, I think he said he was fourteen or something then, jumps out from the top of a store roof and lands in the middle of the firing. Somehow, he was able to not get hit as he slid under the car and pulled me out. And somehow, we were able to make it to safety without being hit. It was some freakin' miracle."

Ash, Brock, Dawn, May, and Pikachu all gawked at Captain Dunning as he concluded his tale. The thought of Altaïr running down the streets and dodging bullets, all at age fourteen, seemed unbelievable, but then, Altaïr was not the typical teenaged Pokémon trainer. After all, he did claim to be on an assassination squad.

"So after the whole ordeal ended, me and him got to know each other some. And he actually told me everything about him too, how he was in PDI, and how he was conducting a mission in Lightcrown. What he was doing is beyond me, though. Eventually, he left as his mission was completed, and I didn't hear from him at all. Meh, I figured that, him being spec-ops and everything. It was just this afternoon that he just randomly appeared in my office, or rather, snuck into my office. I tell ya' that kid's got some real talent for that stuff. He gave me a quick briefing on how his current mission in Lightcrown has gone wrong and that he needed me to help protect and transport you guys to a safe place. Of course, since he saved my life and everything, I complied, and here I am."

"_Hmm, his story seems viable. Sounds like Altaïr has quite a colorful past." _Brock was the first to stand and his friends all looked up at him as he did so.

"Alright, so if we're in danger as you said, where will you be taking us?" Brock furrowed his eyebrows as he was now truly frightened for his life and his friends'. From the sound of things, Altaïr's mission had to do with The Brotherhood, but something had gone wrong which led to Altaïr ending up wounded. However, the reason for Altaïr knocking them out and disappearing still eluded the breeder. Also, he questioned to himself why Altaïr would decide to ask help from local law enforcement rather than the PDI.

"_Wouldn't the PDI have better protection too?"_

"Me and my men will take you to Veilstone City, since that's a pretty good distance away. Whatever Altaïr is afraid of happening to you guys shouldn't be an issue there. The police there will take you guys in and keep you all under their protection, until we hear from Altaïr again."

"So basically, we're going to be kept under confinement from some 'threat' until Altaïr says otherwise?" Ash had a look of rage in his eyes since he could not bear Altaïr taking control of him again. The humiliating battle during their first encounter still left a stigma, and now hearing all the new stories about the teenager, he felt powerless and worthless. He wanted Altaïr to stop being the hero all the time. He wanted to show that he could protect his friends; Pikachu, Brock, Dawn, and… May. He wanted to prove himself, just like Altaïr did, but he wanted to prove himself to just one person.

"I won't let you kids just wander around vulnerable to whatever dangers may lurk for you guys now. I have a debt to repay, and I won't let him down." Captain Dunning glared back at the trainer, hand balled in a fist, but Ash wouldn't give in so easily either.

"Ash…"

The soft voice that sounded like angels to the boy spun him around instantly as he looked right into May's eyes staring back at his. This was the first time that she had directly addressed him since the months they had separated. Ash felt his heart soften as he looked into her wonderful sapphire eyes. Her face displayed a mix of anxiety and concern because of the situation they had been dragged in. Ash released his anger and focused all his attention to what she had to say.

"Ash…" May repeated. "I think we should listen to Captain Dunning… and go with him to Veilstone City," May shifted uneasily as she felt herself blush, knowing too that she was speaking to Ash directly for the first time.

Ash looked at her for one moment longer before nodding his head once. "Ok," he whispered softly, giving in to his pride and self-worth. He wanted May to feel safe, and if going with Captain Dunning was the way, then he would humble himself and comply.

"It's not like I woulda' given you kids a choice, anyway. We leave now, so I'll explain the plan. I have disguised semi trucks up front so we can leave here without being noticed if there is anybody watching us. You'll be put into boxes in the storage room down the hall and my men will wheel you guys in to the back of one of the trucks. I have three other semis as escorts, which are filled with my squads, so in case something does happen, you'll be well defended. I'll be coming along as well. Also, the trucks are armored on the inside, just as a little insurance. Once you're all in the truck, you can leave your containers and roam around… the inside of the truck." Captain Dunning shrugged at his last statement.

"Eh, what can you expect? So you all got the plan?"

The group nodded and Captain Dunning motioned for them to follow him. Dawn checked her Pokétch and saw that the time was 9:09 pm. They had been out for over five hours.

Captain Dunning led the group out of Altaïr's room and they traveled down the hallway for a very brief period before the captain turned and opened a door that said "Storage." Inside, four men wearing janitor's outfits stood ready with boxes large enough to fit a human beside them with dollies. Captain Dunning promptly instructed for the group to each get into a box. Pikachu and Ash both stepped together into one box as Brock, Dawn, and May all stepped into another. The boxes were sealed and there was a jerk as they were lifted onto the dollies. There was one small hole on the box at eye level that allowed light to enter to help ease any claustrophobia, as well allowing the passengers to get a narrow view of what was outside.

After only a few minutes of moving down hallways and going down elevators, though it seemed like half an hour to the occupants of the boxes, they each felt more turbulence as they were wheeled up a ramp and into the semi trucks. The back of the truck was pulled down and only a small light at the top of the truck illuminated the dank interior.

Brock assumed that they were allowed to exit their containers, so he pushed forward to discover that the box could be easily opened. After the breeder went around to all his friends and helped them out of their boxes, they all sat down against the walls of the truck, Brock and May on one side and Ash and Dawn on the other, and remained silent. Many thoughts were running through each of their minds, mostly of nervousness and anxiety, though some were of pure fright, and others were meditating on their situation. The rear of the truck opened once again as Captain Dunning stepped in silently, then closing behind him. He nodded to the other four occupants as he shouldered an assault rifle that was leaning against the wall. The sight of the heavy weapon sent chills up everyone's spine, for they could not imagine what kind of danger would require such a weapon besides a large gunfight.

A short wait ensued before the sound of an igniting engine could be heard and movement was felt. They were off. Off to an unclear future.

* * *

Several hours had passed in silence as each member of Ash's group was sitting in his or her own corner of the truck. Everyone needed some alone time to sort thoughts and recuperate from the sudden turn of events. None of them had expected that their journeys would have altered in the manner it had been.

The single fluorescent lamp swung lazily from side to side due to the jostling of the truck. Low roars from the truck could be heard through the wall, but it was impossible to tell where they were, as there were no windows to look out of.

The feeling of isolation and containment began creeping into Ash's psyche, and restlessness started to overtake him. Over the course of their trip, he had stood up and paced in his corner, bit his nails, did sit-ups and push-ups, and tapped the wall. The teenaged boy just couldn't sit still as he and his friends were being transported to an unknown destiny.

The trainer looked down at his Pokémon, and his Pokémon looked back at him. Pikachu had been quietly sitting with Ash, and he too, felt his trainer's emotions. The Electric Mouse would continuously let sparks fly from his cheeks and run in circles to ease the restlessness.

"Pikachu… what are we?"

"Ka?" Pikachu ceased his pacing and looked up at his trainer worriedly.

"Are we… a good team? Are we… strong?" Ash allowed his head to hang lower after each statement.

"Pika Pikachu Pikapi!" exclaimed Ash's best friend, as if to admonish his trainer for saying such things.

"Then why do I always have to have my hand held? Why do I always have to fall and have somebody catch me? Just look at Altaïr. He's lived alone most of his life, and now he's found true strength."

"Is it really true strength?" said a gruff voice from Ash's right. The teenager quickly looked up and saw Captain Dunning standing no more than a couple of meters away, listening to his conversation with Pikachu.

"I couldn't help but overhear, since you're the only one talking right now." The captain took a few steps towards Ash as he squatted down beside him, gun laid aside. "Seems like you're having a few troubles, kid."

The sound of the word 'kid' caused Ash to twitch. The word kid meant that he was young and helpless, requiring someone's aid. The word meant that he could not look out for himself and needed support whenever he was put down. The word meant he was weak.

"I'm not a kid," mumbled Ash in a low voice.

"I see now." Captain Dunning took a seat and stretched one leg forward while bending the other at the knee with his arm on top of it. "You're comparing yourself to him, aren't you?"

"No! I was just-"

"I did too."

The words that the teenaged boy was spitting out were lost as he heard this. He closed his mouth and opened it once again as if he was about to say something, but then closed it again.

"How do you think it felt when being part of an elite police unit but then being rescued by a kid barely in his teens?"

Ash could not answer.

"How do you think it felt learning that he was part of the top private military corporation serving under one of the most secretive units in existence?"

The boy had no response.

Captain Dunning's voice had been rising as he asked his rhetorical questions, but he caught himself and lowered his voice as he continued.

"You see, Altaïr is one of a kind. As much as I like him and am grateful for him saving my life, I cannot say he's normal. He does not fit into society."

This caused Ash to turn and look at Captain Dunning in the eye for the first time since their trip began. What the captain was saying took hold of all of Ash's attention. Even Pikachu was completely focused on the captain.

"This is what I learned after observing him shortly after I experienced the same feelings as you. Do not feel inferior 'cause he can do all the stuff you can't. You're not _supposed _to be like Altaïr. Nobody is."

Ash looked at the man with amazement. It was almost like he was saying that Altaïr was something not human. But then again, how many teenaged boys get recruited into private militaries and assigned to assassination squads? Still, one thought still bothered the trainer.

"_Can I protect May… protect all of us… in this mess?"_

"Just keep that in mind, kid." Captain Dunning picked up his weapon and walked away to the far end.

This time, the word didn't bother Ash at all. He was too deep in thought of what the captain had said about Altaïr.

Suddenly, a loud explosion was heard outside, and all momentum of their trailer stopped, causing all the occupants to land on the floor. The two females of the let out screams while the males grunted. Pikachu gave a "Chaaaa…" as he rolled along the floor.

"What's going on!" yelled Brock as he tried to pick himself off the ground.

Two more explosions were heard outside, this time even louder, which meant that they were closer. Then, a sound similar to that of pebbles hitting metal could be heard on the walls of the trailer they were in. Popping noises could also be heard in the distance, coming in short and long bursts.

Without answering Brock, Captain Dunning grabbed the radio from his waist and yelled into it.

"WHAT'S GOING ON OUT THERE?!" The captain's eyes were opened wide and his voice was hard.

Through his radio came the sound of more of the popping noises and the sound of screams. Among the apparent chaos, a faint voice could be heard by only the captain.

"Under - - - Need Rein- - - - AHHH! - - - ." The transmission was cut off by static emitting through the radio. Captain Dunning swore under his breath as he holstered his radio and pulled the bolt of his assault rifle.

"You guys. Stay. Here," said the captain with authority. He ran towards the rear and began to work the door open until an extremely loud bang came from near the front of the trailer.

All the occupants turned to face that end and what they saw was a giant hole on the left side of the trailer. The sounds outside could now be heard more clearly, and the sounds were of a familiar nature. They could now be identified more as sharp cracks than pops, and they were becoming more numerous as the seconds went on.

Soon after the hole was created, several objects entered through the hole and fell onto the trailer floor with resounding thuds. The teenagers watched from a distance with curiosity, but the captain instantly recognized what the objects were and began grabbing the others' arms and pulled them to the ground.

"GET DOWN, NOW!"

Then a sound resembling a spark came from the direction of the alien objects, and a hissing could be heard.

"SHI-," but before Captain Dunning could finish, he dropped to the floor and was out cold.

"AHH!" screamed Dawn. "WHAT HAPPENED TO HI-," but Dawn's words were also cut off as she too, fell to the floor.

Before any of the three remaining people and Pokémon could utter a sound, they too, all fell to the floor and went out cold. The last living thing to lose consciousness was Pikachu, and before his eyes fully closed, he saw forms coming through the hole at the end of the trailer, and he was able to recognize one holding an object similar to that of what Captain Dunning held before his vision was lost.

* * *

**Afterthought**

Don't worry, things will start cooling down after this chapter.


	25. Trial

**Foreword**

It's been a while.

* * *

**Chapter 25 - Trial**

A dark forest was all that existed for miles on end, and in the black night, its boundaries seemed limitless. There was a deathly silence in the forest, as not a living creature stirred in the hour. A strong wind blew through the leaves every so often, creating the only sound in the area. The floor of the forest contained heavy vegetation and little light in the daytime, making it always seem like night, even on the brightest days. It was a forest that few had much knowledge of and few ventured into. It was the perfect place to be isolated.

The morning sun began to rise over the mountains in the horizon, casting its rays over the canopy of the forest. No light shined on the forest floor, but there was one living thing that felt the sun heating the trapped air of the forest. That one living thing began stirring as the clothing that he wore began to cause him to sweat. He rolled over several times and finally, as if activated by a switch, his eyes opened.

Captain Dunning was sprawled out on his back on the ground, and once his eyes opened, he saw the tall rugged trunks and high canopy towering over him. The scene was incomprehensible to him at that moment as his consciousness still eluded him. His eyes only wandered in a cycle, admiring the trees in all their glory, but soon, the man's mind returned to him, and he quickly sprang to his feet.

Reaching down to his holster for his sidearm, Captain Dunning did not feel the familiar grip of his pistol. Confused, he looked down and saw that it had been removed, meaning that somebody didn't want him to have the power of deadly force with him. However, he swiftly reached into his vest and searched around for another item. Feeling it brought him a touch of hope, and he pulled out an item that was shaped like another pistol. However, this pistol did not fire bullets, but instead tranquilizer darts, but it was the only form of defense the Captain had remaining. Relief passed through him since whoever had disarmed him neglected to remove the tranquilizer gun from him, or just couldn't find it.

He then set out, tranquilizer pointing forward at the ready, walking slowly and quietly over the dirt ground and light vegetation. As he ventured on, the vegetation grew thicker, and travel became more difficult and noisy. The Captain didn't know why, but his gut feeling told him that this forest was not any normal forest. It even felt like he somewhat recognized the forest, or just somehow knew of it like he had read about it before. Captain Dunning pushed the thoughts out of his mind as he pushed on, determined to find out where he was and what he was doing there.

He then pushed through a large bush, and he found himself on short cliff, looking down into a quarry. Making a quick decision to press on, the Captain slid his way down the cliff and landed inside the pit. Bringing his gun forward, he slowly began walking through the pit, ready to combat any sudden encounters. The tension was high, and a foul air seemed to blow through. A drop of sweat dripped down his temples, like he was in a hostage standoff, waiting for the captor to make a mistake.

In the dimly lit pit, Captain Dunning was unable to see more than several meters, but a strange noise echoed along the walls of the pit. It was a deep sound, one of a familiar nature, but at the same time the source of the sound eluded the Captain. He squinted his eyes in an attempt to gain a clearer view of his surroundings, only to give in to the futility of it. Captain Dunning continued moving forward, but at a more cautious stance, still trying to identify the sound.

Then a rare occurrence happened. Through a small opening in the trees, a sliver of light was cast down onto the moist earth. The light attracted Captain Dunning's eyes in the darkness, and he soon changed his course to approach the light. It was like food for the Captain's eyes after being starved from light for so 

long. Soon, he was upon the small illuminated circle that had managed to penetrate through the trees. Captain Dunning looked up at the thin beam and stared lazily at the hole through which the light entered.

The noise then sounded again, but this time, it was much closer to Captain Dunning. He was able to locate the source coming from the right, and he quickly spun in that direction with his tranquilizer gun aimed. What he saw confirmed his fears of the forest, and he knew that if Ash and his friends were also in the forest, they would be in great danger.

The looming creature in the darkness then opened its two eyes, and stood up with its four legs, claws at the ready. It growled menacingly at the puny human before him, and snapped its claws for intimidation. Even with the odds against him, the Captain carefully aimed down the sight of his gun and waited for his opponent to make its first move.

"Come and get me, ya' big purple freak."

* * *

"ARGH, WERE WE KNOCKED OUT AGAIN?!"

A very irate trainer picked himself off the ground and looked around him. Being put to sleep once was one thing, but twice in the same day was extra frustrating to the teenaged boy. At least, he thought it was the same day.

After a few moments of venting, the trainer calmed himself down and began to notice the unfamiliar surroundings.

"Uh… where am I?" said Ash out loud.

He looked around and realized that besides the trees and vegetation, he was the only living thing around, so he realized that he was talking to himself.

Then a shocking fact hit him.

"Pikachu? Are you around here?" the boy first asked quietly.

There was no response from his best friend.

"Pikachu?! PIKACHU?!" panicked Ash.

Another jarring reality hit the trainer as he momentarily stopped his calling for Pikachu.

"My Pokéballs are gone!" he yelled into dark forest. Things were beginning to get worse and worse for Ash as he realized the predicament he was in.

"PIKACHU!!" screamed Ash one last time in desperation. If Pikachu did not hear that call, then he was definitely no where near him.

No call from his best friend returned, and Ash began to feel isolation creeping into him, making him suddenly feel great fear inside the dark forest. The trees seemed to close in on him, and the darkness engulfed everything around him. He had been separated from Pikachu many times before, but that separation was usually caused by Team Rocket, and he always was able to rescue his buddy. Now, Pikachu was no where to be found, and Ash had no idea where his friend could be. He didn't even know where he was. Claustrophobia began to set in as Ash began backing up to try to escape the dreadful setting, only to run his back into a tree. Finally breaking, the teenaged boy broke into a run and began sprinting aimlessly, trying to escape from the forest prison.

The trainer's eyes bulged as they searched wildly around for anything that wasn't a tree or bush, but nothing changed as he continued to run. It was like he was running on a conveyer belt, as nothing seemed to move around him. The trees began to look identical, and it felt like he was running in place. Soon, fatigue took over the boy's body, and he collapsed onto his knees, then his front. From a bush not far from where Ash collapsed, a pair of eyes observed the fainted boy.

* * *

She was alone.

It had been a long time since she was last alone.

Her friends and Pokéballs were gone, and there was not a sound about.

Dawn sat against a tree with her arms holding her legs against her chest. The lack of light itself was enough to cause the girl to become frozen stiff, and adding the seemingly endless horde of trees and bushes in every direction was no encouragement.

It wasn't particularly fear or isolation that froze her, though those emotions were present within her, it was something else.

It was the fact that she didn't know what to do.

When she was with her friends, there was always a path set for her. The road to the next gym leader or the next Pokémon contest was always present. Ash in particular was the main driving force as he was always pumped and ready to tackle whatever obstacles lay before him to continue on his journey. It was always inspiring to her how even if he was beaten back, Ash would always recompose himself and try again, and that would usually end in success. Perhaps that was the reason why Dawn admired and liked him so much.

It was different for her though, because there was no possible with the way to have a rematch with the way contests were run. Just recently in the Hearthome City Contest, she was knocked out early in the appeal round, creating an abrupt void in her young coordinating career. A deep disappointment and blow to her self-esteem followed the defeat, and there was no way she could redeem herself like Ash would in a rematch. The only time she could test herself again was during another contest, which are few are far compared to random Pokémon battles that Ash would get into with various trainers.

The path for Dawn was so linear, since the few contests create a do or die scenario for coordinators like her. So for the young coordinator, forks in the road are few and far, and always daunting obstacles. And now was one of them.

With her lack of independence, Dawn could not conjure the thoughts needed for survival in the dark forest. She always had Ash and Brock helping her along, mentoring her, feeding her, housing her, and the likes. Her journey started out right in the hands of the two older males, but now with them gone, she was at a complete loss.

She could only sit there and wait.

* * *

A sound rang in Ash's ear, but in the boy's half-conscious state, he couldn't identify what the sound was. Seconds passed before the sound came again, and this time recognizing the nature of the sound he was brought into consciousness. He opened his eyes wide in alarm, and pushed himself off the ground to begin running towards the direction of the source.

All the past feelings of isolation and fear momentarily left him as the sound signified that there was another human presence in the forest brought him hope, but realizing that the sound was a cry of distress unnerved him at the same time. It was almost like he had heard the voice many times before as well.

Then a voice entered Ash's ears, and he instantly recognized it.

"Get away… whatever the heck you are!"

"MAY!" yelled Ash as he dove through a cluster of vegetation, tripping as he did so and falling into a roll.

"Ash!" screamed May as she turned around seeing him crash through the bushes.

The teenaged boy quickly picked himself off the ground and stood cautiously. "What's going on?!" he exclaimed while wildly glancing around in the darkness.

"THAT!" May pointed upwards at a large hulking figure that stood only a few meters before them.

In the darkness, it was almost impossible to see any details about the giant, but Ash could see a pair of large white eyes and a pair of some sort of extending limb from both sides of them. The thing let out a deep growl as it leaned towards the two humans threatening.

There was no time for fear; only adrenaline and the thought of protecting May coursed through Ash's body. To him, running wasn't a viable option since the area in which they were was enclosed on all sides by thick forage. Thinking on his feet, the trainer swept a large, thick tree branch from the ground a few meters away and held it in front of him, ready to do battle with the large monster before them.

The low growl emanated from the figure again, and began approaching Ash and May slowly. May gasped as she brought her hands together under her chin. Instinct told her to run away, to grab Ash and run away, but the sight of the boy she had barely spoken to in the past few days standing fast with little armament against an intimidating beast compelled her to stay. However, the fear of him being seriously injured by whatever was threatening them still pierced her.

Ash peered at his enemy through narrowed eyes as he watched it approach him ever so slowly. The growls from whatever the thing was steadily grew louder and soon became snarls of hostility. However, Ash was not shaken. In his mind, there was too much at stake for him to risk attempting to escape and having the stalker become a pursuer. Even though his Pokémon were not in his possession, he could feel each of them encouraging and cheering him on, especially Pikachu. He knew what he had to do, and even if he failed, it would give May the chance to make her escape.

"May," Ash began, but was cut off.

"No…" the coordinator said softly. "Don't do this alone… We can run together… We can hide together…"

For a second, Ash was brought considered her suggestions. They _could _run. They _could _hide. They _could _work together. But for some reason, a force inside him was urging him to follow through with his own foolish plan. A voice of someone resonated through his head, repeating words Ash had heard before.

"_So you abandoned her?"_

The voice echoed as he turned his head to look back at May, who in turn stared back into his eyes with fear in her face. Suddenly, it hit him. He knew why he was doing what he was doing something so nonsensical. Why he was chose to fight instead of flee. Then, for no particular reason, Ash answered the question out loud.

"No, I didn't, and I never will." Ash gave a little smile to May as he said that. It wasn't his usual cocky smile either, but one of sweetness, affection, and a bit of sadness. May's mouth opened in slight surprise, 

but before she could show any response, Ash turned away and sprung into a charge for the opportunity to prove himself.

* * *

**Afterthought**

We've all had our own trials. I know I did.


	26. Premonitions

(_Note, Document editor doesn't seem to want to cooperate with me, so the line breaks will be missing here and there)_

**Foreword**

Hi… It's been a while… again.

**Chapter 26 – Premonitions **

"AHHHH!" yelled a young trainer wielding a tree branch as he charged whatever creature loomed before him.

"ASH! NO!"

Ash neared the beast until he was only a few steps away from it, and then leapt up to attempt to strike his foe with his weapon. However, with agility that few would think it could have, the large creature made a 180 degree turn and struck its attacker violently with its tail. Ash felt the wind knocked out of him as the blow connected with his abdomen while he was still airborne. The powerful blow knocked him backwards, sending him tumbling on the ground for several meters.

A shriek of fear and concern emanated from May's throat as she watched the trainer roll along the hard forest floor, then stopping halfway between her and the monster. In her mind, she could not decide if Ash was being a brave hero, or a foolish boy, but one thing was certain, and it was that Ash stood no chance against whatever was assaulting them and could possibly be killed.

"Ash, please stop!" May called to Ash as he slowly picked himself off the ground, using his branch as support. "You can't fight whatever that thing is by yourself! You'll get seriously injured! Or worse…"

For a moment, the beaten teen seemed to return to his senses, and he turned his head to gaze at the girl that had his heart. He looked into her wide sapphire eyes and admired their beauty, then changed his view to her entire face. Though it was filled with fright and anxiety, it still looked like the face of an angel to him.

A low growl came from his front, and Ash changed his gaze back to his opponent. The bubbly feelings he just had disappeared, and a sort of rage took over his mind. It wasn't that he was angry at the beast for attacking them, it was that he was frustrated that he was still powerless, no matter how dire the situation. If Altaïr was around, he would probably dispose of the creature in a few simple moves, with or without his Pokémon. Ash didn't know why, but he wanted to be like him. He wanted to have physical strength that was permanent, not powers like Aura which he could only seem to call upon at some times, or strange connections with Legendary Pokémon. Though those attributes set him apart as well, they proved useful at only a few particular situations.

Now he wanted the power to always protect May. Or was that the actual reason? Maybe a little jealousy also contributed to his thirst for strength. After all, he did see Altaïr and May together at that dance…

"No, I can't stop now…" Ash said in a low voice, barely above a whisper.

"But…" May didn't know what else she could say to get the boy that truly had her own heart to stop. But with those feelings of affection she had, pain came attached as well. The memories of how she could not receive any signs of affection back from him and then deciding to pursue Drew plagued her, and the sight of Ash and Dawn together at the dance felt like blades cutting into her when she first saw them. However, the memories of pain were pushed away as now her entire attention was focused on Ash and the dangerous situation they were in.

"HERE I COME!" Ash roared at his opponent as he faced forward and began charging.

May could only watch in horror as the next series of events took place.

Ash once again charged straight at the beast and jumped into the air, but the beast, easily able to predict the trainer's simple tactics, was prepared to end this fight once and for all. As Ash began to bring his weapon down to strike the creature's abdomen, it bent down low and out of the shadows, two claws came forward and slashed diagonally in opposite directions, aimed directly at the person charging; Ash.

From the teenaged boy's perspective, it was a quick flash, a funny feeling across his chest, and the force of being propelled violently backwards. Instead of tumbling this time, he remained on his back as he slid, causing a great burning sensation and him to grunt in pain.

This time, no words exited May's mouth, and instead she rushed to where Ash had stopped after sliding. She dropped to her knees beside the teen and quickly began to look him over. What she witnessed caused her to make a sort of choking noise in her throat as she viewed the carnage before her.

Across Ash's chest were two large gashes in an X shaped pattern that ripped right through his clothing. Blood seeped through the wounds and spread along the fabric of his vest, darkening the yellow line across it. The cuts looked to be fairly deep, and without proper medical support, blood loss could soon be a problem. May felt herself shaking as she hovered over his chest, trying to come up with some way to treat him, but knowing that she was unable to do so without a medical background. She wasn't able to let tears loose, as the only emotion in her mind was a stunned sensation and increasing panic.

Then she looked at his face, and the sight of that caused her to break down further. Ash's face displayed not a look of contortion or pain, but instead a peaceful look, like he had just died a peaceful death. He was passed out due to the shock and no breath seemed to come from his slightly ajar mouth. His eyes were open, but they only gave a blank, lifeless stare. The thought of him actually being gone finally hit May hard, and a choked sob escaped her throat.

"No… Ash… why did you have to go do that…" she whispered as her chest tightened and her face became hot. Her eyes felt as if they were burning while they began to water up.

A grunt came from above May, causing her to look upwards straight into the glowing eyes of the humongous beast towering over her. She gave a quick shriek and quickly backed off several meters in fear. Though it was still relatively dark, May could now make out several characteristics of the monster. In fact, it looked like some sort of Pokémon, with its gaping mouth and armored body. She had never seen any Pokémon that fit that description before though, so she knew nothing about its abilities or behavior.

The Pokémon then stepped over Ash's limp body and stretched its long neck so it could take a good look at the puny human that had just tried to combat it. Suddenly, a switch was turned inside May as she thought of a way of getting Ash away from the Pokémon and into safety. She knew that with his wounds, Ash may not live much longer even if the Pokémon did not attack him again. Ash had protected and rescued her so many times before, and now it was time to return the favor.

Clenching her hands into fists, the coordinator stood up and took a step towards the Pokémon that threatened her best friend, and prepared herself for what was to come.

"I won't let you hurt him anymore."

"Dammit, bugger nearly tore my leg straight off."

Captain Dunning grunted and cursed as he limped his way out of the quarry, just putting down his adversary with a few well placed tranquilizer shots. However, the battle did not go about without wounds to the Captain.

"Gotta dress this before I start losing too much blood… not that it would matter if I got poisoned."

Finally reaching the top of the incline, Captain Dunning let himself collapse as the physical strain of scaling the incline with an injury was a bit overbearing, even for a well trained policeman like him. He panted heavily as he rolled over onto his back, staring up into the dark canopy that shadowed the world below.

"Ugh… ha… it seems like… ha… some poison is starting to… ha… kick in…" sweat was now starting to roll off his brow, and a feverish tinge blotched his cheeks. He needed an antidote, and quick.

But the poison was now causing his muscles to weaken, disallowing him to work himself onto his feet. The Captain could only lie there staring at the trees as his fever continued to rise and his vision began to blur. His breathing was becoming shallower by the seconds, as the muscles of his lungs were being affected by the poison.

"Looks… ha… like… ha… I'm going… out…" Captain Dunning slowly closed his eyes as he let the embrace of death overtake him.

Unfortunately, the embrace of death included an object hitting his forehead. Strangely, the object was soft and squishy, so it simply plopped onto his forehead and stayed there. Captain Dunning slowly opened his eyes once again, being interrupted from his death.

"Whuzz…zat?" he slurred while using much effort to move his right arm onto his face and feel for the object. He removed the soft object from his head and used his last remaining strength to hold it above his eyes.

"Pecha…?" and then the Captain blacked out.

"_Now I know I definitely heard something that time."_

It was impossible to tell the time of the day, but to a certain Pokémon breeder, it was nearing the time that he generally cooked dinner. His matriarchal instincts never failed him.

"_Somebody… or something, is watching me. I can just feel it."_

Brock spun around several times quickly, trying to catch whatever was tailing him by surprise and in the open, but he came to no such luck. A bead of sweat dripped down his temple as paranoia unnerved him. Usually, he was able to remain calm and collected in such situations, but for some reason, the combination of the darkness and the silent forest was able to break down his logical sense of reasoning.

"_Ghosts. Is it ghosts? Ghost Pokémon maybe? Or… real ghosts?"_

His ears were on full alert, waiting for the slightest sound to catch their attention so their owner could finally solve the mystery of what was going on. Brock stood motionless for a good ten minutes, then twenty, then a half hour, but no sound entered his ears.

"_I think I'm just being… paranoid… that's it."_

Feeling more secure, Brock continued on his endless trek, not knowing where to go or what to do. As he mindlessly wandered, his thoughts began to float to back to all the events that had happened in the past five days, with the advent of meeting Altaïr, the discovery of the Pokémon contest, the contest training, Dawn's encounter in the alley, the start of the Pokémon contest, Altaïr's strange behavior, Altaïr's confession and disappearance, the orders from Captain Dunning, and finally their excursion. It was a lot to happen in just five simple days, though it wasn't like Brock hadn't had similar timelines of crazy events. However, the current situation he was under seemed to have an unusual sort of direct threat toward him and his friends, with Captain Dunning being assigned to them with heavily armed personnel. It had been a while since Brock and his friends had encountered anything exciting, but this was a little over the top for his wishes.

"_Man, I've never come across a guy like Altaïr either. I mean I've met agents from different kinds of organizations, like Lance from the Pokémon G-Men, and Jack Walker from the Pokémon Rangers, but Altaïr has a kind of… different air to him. And the organization he works for… what was it? The PDI? It stands for Pokémon Defense Initiative? What do they really do? How come no one's ever heard of them before? I'm pretty sure if they're working for the government, they have to be recognized somehow right? Unless the government is hiding their existence from us! But why?"_

A breeze began to whistle as it passed the canopy high above. It was an extremely windy day because of the Foehn winds of the nearby mountains, but little of the wind could be felt in the forest as the dense leaves of the trees that spanned over 20 meters high shielded the floor from the majority of the harsh winds. Deep in thought, the whistles passed seamlessly through his brain and cancelled out all other noise that went on around him, whatever little noise there was in the forest excluding the wind.

"_If you ask me, any secret organization that performs covert military operations sounds like bad news to me, mercenaries or not. I mean, Altaïr knocked us out to get on with his mission for crying out loud! But then, why did he give us so many details about his mission if he was heading out to complete it? _

Brock subconsciously stopped as he began to ponder the agent's motives. It was definitely strange for a covert operative to divulge a great amount of detail to a bunch of random travelers, and Brock felt finicky over the possibilities of reasons.

Suddenly, the breeder's foot ran into an object on the ground and kicked it slightly forward. The contact snapped Brock out of his thinking trance, and he glanced down to see what he had hit, and what he saw was caused him to jump back slightly.

"What-What's this d-doing here?" he stammered.

On the ground lay an assault rifle, similar to the one that Captain Dunning carried on the truck. For all he knew, the rifle could be the exact same one that Captain Dunning did carry;s there was no way to tell it apart from any other ordinary rifle. What was most jarring was the fact that it was just lying there in the middle of nowhere on the forest floor, as if it had been waiting for him. Brock didn't think he was anywhere near the place they… actually, he had no idea what area he was thinking about. He could remember that he and his friends were being transported to Veilstone City, but he could not remember how he ended up in the forest in the first place. One minute, they were sitting in a semi-truck and the next, he was alone lying on the ground.

Brock merely stared at the deadly weapon that seemed to beckon him to pick it up, but using his better senses, Brock felt he had no reason to arm himself, and he opted to ignore it. However, that feeling vanished immediately.

"DRAAAAAA!"

"WHAT THE!?" Brock managed to fall to his side just in time to avoid a quick flash from connecting with his chest. Whatever had tried to attack him was now directly on top of him, and if Brock didn't act soon, he'd be cut up into Swiss cheese.

Acting on adrenaline and self-defense, the breeder snatched the weapon that was beside him and quickly pulled the bolt and aimed it upwards at his assailant. But as he was just about to pull the trigger, he faintly saw the shape of some sort of large Pokémon staring down at him through his blurred vision due to the adrenaline. The man and the Pokémon stared into each other's eyes, and saw the fear in one another. Neither made a single movement.

Then finally coming back to his senses, he realized that the fact that the attacker was a Pokémon alone caused him to hesitate, and then he lowered the rifle.

"I'm not here to hurt you," the breeder said in a soft, but firm tone.

The Pokémon only stared back, and its next move was unreadable by Brock.

* * *

**Afterthought**

Sigh.


	27. Lost

**Foreword**

And the saga continues… after like, 3 months.

-------------------

**Chapter 27 - Lost**

The eyes of an unconscious police captain flickered as he stirred from a deep slumber. As his senses came to, the first distinct sense was his taste as a sweet flavor invaded his tongue. The taste was familiar in nature, and the Captain also noticed the inside of his mouth felt sticky. Soon, the rest of his consciousness returned, and he reabsorbed his surroundings.

Captain Dunning blinked several more times, regaining his focus, and the image of tall trees came into view, which wasn't surprising to him as he knew full well where he was after having been in the forest for so long. What was surprising, though, was the fact that he was still alive. The Captain could clearly recall being wounded by the attacking Pokémon which also resulted in his poisoning. He remembered the intense fever he experienced soon afterward and then going unconscious. He also remembered an object falling onto his forehead, but he could not conjure the name, or even what the object looked like. It was no real matter to him, though. The point was that he was alive, and feeling well too, and he had a mission to carry out, if the mission was still even in effect at that point.

The Captain slowly picked himself off the cold dirt and worked his way to a stand. His body was stiff and sore from the earlier fight, however long ago that was. He took a quick glance around and spotted his tranquilizer gun lying next to him, and he painfully bent down and picked it back up. He then pulled the chamber of the gun back and let the magazine slide out from the handle, showing him that he was down to his last dart. Reloading the dart back in, he set out once again in search of Ash and the others.

"_Which direction do I start though? Ah, no point wasting time in thinking about it. Guess I'll just go this way."_

Setting out in a random direction, the Captain grunted as his joints ached and his cuts burned. There would be a lot of wandering to come in the lifeless forest as the Captain knew the kind monstrosities it held.

The location of the forest was between two small chains of mountains that jutted out of the side of the main chain of mountains that ran through Sinnoh. It was an uninhabited region as it was packed from mountain to mountain to trees, and the Pokémon that lived in there were known to be very aggressive, thus earning it the name the Blood Forest.

The Blood Forest was a sort of phenomenon, striking fear into anyone to which the name was mentioned to, but also at the same time attracting trainers seeking the most aggressive Pokémon in perhaps all the regions. The few who dared to wander in to attempt to capture a prize were often known to disappear eternally; bodies, in one piece or several, never exited. There were some survivors, but such were the trainers only cowardly, or rather smart enough to travel only within the first kilometer of the boarders of the forest. No rescue was ever sent into the forest further than that limit, even for distress calls of survivors past that point. Those survivors did not last much longer.

Captain Dunning knew that they must have been deep in the Blood Forest, which was never traversed by any human that survived. He knew that the forest was divided into five main territories of the five main species of Pokémon that resided in the thirty square kilometer area: Houndoom, Rhyperior, Scizor, Dusknoir, and Drapion. They were in the Drapion Territory.

The exact positions of the territories were unknown to any human, but the Drapion Territory was suspected to be around the deep center of the Blood Forest. Escape seemed to be impossible; even if Dunning was able to link up with the rest of the group, they would have to traverse through kilometers of hostile Pokémon with no Pokémon of their own. His own Pokémon was taken away along with his gun and equipment. Concern for his friend now surged through his body, causing a sick, heavy feeling in his chest, but as a SWAT captain, Dunning had to do his best to maintain his composure. Besides, he's faced death scores of times before. This time however, his enemy was the Pokémon.

--------------------

Not a soul moved as Brock and the bestial Pokémon stared at one another, Brock unknowing of what its next move was. He began having second thoughts on surrendering himself to the whim of the Drapion, but as a trainer and breeder, he knew he would never be able to take the life of a Pokémon, no matter what it did to him.

The Drapion took a few extra moments to stare at the puny human before it. Their eyes met and it seemed to try to read Brock's mind as it continued its stare. Then, giving a snort, it turned around and began scuttling away. This action amazed Brock, for he thought he was surely a goner, but apparently the Pokémon saw no point to tear him to pieces. He then let out the breath he had been holding in during the standoff and gasped deeply for air.

"Huff… I can't… huff… believe… huff… I got away with that…"

Then Brock looked to his side and spotted the weapon lying on the ground where he dropped it.

"_Hm, that gun… should I or should I not take it…?"_

He knew that the forest held the danger of vicious Pokémon in it, but he did not know what else the forest could hold for him. It could have bandits in it for all he knew. Still, there was something about picking up that rifle and aiming it at a living thing that unnerved Brock. Just the thought of taking a life made Brock apprehensive, as he did not know what his conscious would do to him, even if he killed in self defense.

Bending down to examine the rifle, Brock constantly ran the same question in his head and whether or not he could deal with the consequences. His choice could mean either life or death in the forest, but also determine how he would behave and think in the future if he survived either way.

The breeder then picked up the rifle and took more looks at it from all angles. He had no idea how to work the thing, as all he knew about guns was that one pulls the trigger and it fires a bullet. He decided to give it a shot…

Taking aim upwards so that he wouldn't accidentally hit anything, he began wondering if even doing this was such a good idea, as the sound might alert something to his position.

"_Well, I'm just thinking too much. I'll just fire one shot and see if I can cope with that."_

It was now or never, and Brock pulled the trigger of the weapon and before he knew it, he had thrown it back onto the ground. It wasn't the recoil, but the sound it made when he fired it hat was so loud that it startled into throwing it away.

"_This… this was a bad idea… I'm no soldier; I'm just a Pokémon breeder. I've got to get out of here."_

And with that, he began running in the first direction he turned.

-------------------

A small crack entered a young girl's ear as she leaned again a tree. It was the first sound she had heard in hours, and hearing it woke up something inside her.

Dawn slowly got up from the ground and tried to locate the direction in which the sound came. It wasn't too soft for her to guess that it came from behind her, so she automatically began moving in that direction.

For some reason, the fear of being alone in the forest left Dawn as soon as the sound reached her, as if it was some beacon of hope for her to reach in the desolate place. Or, it might have just brought her back into reality, though she didn't know what made such a sound. All she heard was a cracking or popping sound that seemed to come from a fair distance, and then a strange force within her compelled her to head towards it.

Then suddenly, another sound emanated from the trees, though this time, the sound was not a distinct pop, but just a random… noise. A noise was all she could describe it as, like the sound of static from a TV, or something to that effect. It was extremely short, but Dawn felt she definitely heard it coming from her left.

She decided to investigate the new source of sound, and began moving towards that direction. As she moved through a small brush, she came upon a small cliff about five meters high lined with bushes at the top. The coordinator glanced up at the bushes for several moments, and then elected to turn back and head for the initial sound she heard, as she imagined the sound she heard was just the rustling of bushes.

As soon as she moved out of view of that cliff, a pair of dark, glassy circles poked out of the bushes on that cliff, and soon retracted back in.

--------------------

"DRAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"_Not good!"_

May was forced to abandon Ash's body as she dove to the side to avoid a claw from the Drapion's face. The Drapion was clearly not in the mood for negotiations, and was just annoyed at the presence of the humans in its territory.

"_Whatever that thing is, its claws seem to be its main way of attacking."_

An idea then hit May, and she swiftly ran over to a thick tree near her. She then did her best to get the beast even angrier at her.

"Hey! Over here you big ugly monster!"

The Pokémon seemed to get really pissed at May at that, and it charged forward on its short legs with surprising speed that caught May off her guard.

"_Uh oh, maybe that was too harsh a thing to call it."_

The only action May could do was duck as soon as the thing got to her and swung a mighty claw horizontally, striking the tree and cutting it clean just a few centimeters above her bandana.

The coordinator had no words to describe the fear she now felt, since she had no idea the Pokémon was so power that it could cut the tree so easily. She had expected its claw to get caught in it so she and Ash could find a safe place to hide.

She then did the only thing she could do; run.

May took off in the opposite direction and moved as fast as she could. Behind her she could hear the Pokémon scuttling with its many legs again, and she could tell it was gaining on her fast.

"_I don't-I don't wanna die! There's so much I still haven't done, and Ash is still out there alone! What do I do what do I do what do I do!"_

Then, as she was sprinting for her life, May closed her eyes and began praying, praying for her life, Ash's life, and the rest of her friends' safety, wherever they were. She prayed desperately, and even went on to start praying and thanking for other things, like the life she was given, her success as a young coordinator, her discovery of Ash and her friendship with him…

Suddenly, she heard a strange cackling noise in front of her, causing her to open her eyes. To her shock, a huge stream of fire was coming straight at her! She could do nothing but hit the dirt and lay as flat as she could on the ground, and she did so just in time, and the flames passed harmlessly over her, just skimming the tip of her bandana.

As soon as the heat passed, she brought her face up from the ground and looked behind her. The Pokémon that had been chasing her was gone, and the forage had bits of flames still burning. Then she looked in front of her and froze stiff. The face of a Houndoom was almost touching hers and her eyes turned to the size of golf balls in surprise and fear.

"_This is exactly what I need… more vicious Pokémon on my tail."_

However, the Houndoom had no intention of attacking the coordinator, as it was just warding the Drapion away from its territory like the Drapion was doing to May, although the Drapion turned to wanting to kill May for her insults. The Dark Pokémon turned around and began walking away without a glance back at May, relieving her as she let out a breath. Then she remembered something.

"ASH!" she yelled into the darkness. She picked herself up off the cold dirt and began running back in the direction she had been chased by the Drapion in.

"_Oh no, oh no, please just be over here somewhere, I can't imagine what would happen if… if I can't find my way back to you." _Anxiety wracked May as she desperately tried to navigate her way back to where Ash had been lying. There was much torn forage caused by the Drapion that had pursued her, but the journey back seemed to be a lot longer than her flight. _"Where are you!? I don't know what I'd do with myself knowing that I…"_

Finally, the trail of wrecked trees and bushes ended, and still Ash was not in sight. The area did not seem familiar to May either, and now she had no idea if she had even gone in the right direction.

"Ash!" May called out. "If you can hear me, please say something back!"

But May knew that hearing was voice was unlikely, as he was completely unconscious by the time the Drapion had finished assaulting him. Tears began welling up in her eyes as everything was seemingly hopeless. She had lost Ash, and now she was losing herself. She couldn't protect Ash, and ran away like a coward leaving him in a dangerous place unconscious.

"He was bleed-bleeding so much too," she managed to sniff out. "I d-don't know if he's even…"

She couldn't say it, and so she began sobbing audibly. The forest had consumed everything she loved; her friends, her Pokémon, Ash, and now she was left completely alone to the mercy of whatever lurked around the next tree. She now wished that the next thing she came across would finish her, as she had lost everything.

"May…" came a weak whisper to her left.

"Ash…?" May gasped.

No answer came, but May was already running in that direction and as soon as she pushed past the brush, she found Ash in the same position she had left him, though now conscious.

Perhaps there was a little hope left.

--------------------

**Afterthought**

Well, I hope some people still read my fic.


	28. Goodbye?

I'm sorry, this is not a story update, but more of a closure.

Yeah, obviously I had discontinued this story long ago, and I guess it's about time I give the reason.

Heh, I'm actually doing this right now because I'm at work, and I just showed my friend who works here with me (we work at an office place) the story and he's all like "dude, continue it!" Well, I'm not exactly continuing it here, but not exactly killing it either.

So, yeah, I'm an Asian, so I have a lot of schoolwork during the school years. 4 AP classes junior year 6 AP classes senior year. So, I was busy. During the summer of junior year, I got pretty emo, so I had no urge to write there. Now, summer of senior year, I'm working full time, getting ready for college, and running an organization that I will explain later.

I have thought about continuing at times during the past year and a half, but I just looked at my writing and the very helpful criticism that some people had wrote, and I slowly realized that while my story had some interesting original content and concepts which was littered with details backed up by my above average command of the language, I just felt the entire thing overall was a bit… shallow. The OC Altaïr (wow I still remember how to do ï) was just a spitting image I had for myself if I were a Pokémon trainer, and thus he was overpowered. The personality didn't help either. Just think Sasuke in both skill and attitude.

I liked my concept of Lightcrown City, and the imagery of Pokémon battles I could pump out, but a lot, let me repeat, a _lot _of things in the story were stolen from video games. And I named those games in my fore and after words. Altaïr from Assassin's Creed, PDI from GDI from the Command and Conquer Series, to name a few. Heck, while Altaïr was an image of what I would like to be, (and mind you, I'm not cold, emo, or violent anymore. I'm more normal. When I say violent I mean having violent images in my head) he was also pretty much a carbon copy of the Altaïr from the game too. If I wrote on, it would have been very obvious, but there already some hints with the OC's usage of knives and whatnot.

I guess the events in the story weren't completely random, as they were usually used to further the romantic part of the plot, but that's exactly what I have another problem with. I just couldn't really maintain the romance well. There was so much of the real plot that I wanted to get through that I started neglecting the romance. Well, I can't remember too clearly what I wrote anymore. I think I did hint the romances enough, but there was just no real shipping action for too long. I'm sure not many shippers were happy with that. Especially since I had the pairings go awry from the get-go. Too much hormonal teenaged activity going on in the fic, as I was still a hormonal teenager back then (I wrote when I was 16-17, I'm now 18 turning 19 very soon).

So I guess to summarize, I largely became dissatisfied with how my OC turned out, as well as me screwing with the real Pokémon characters too much. Sure I tried to maturate them, but I think I went too far with that. Next, I couldn't maintain the romance in my head and story anymore. I was a shipper back then; now, I could care less. I still love Pokémon, but it's shifted to the actual games and the metagame behind it. The show I never really watched after I was a kid, and while I tried to download episodes and watch them while I was still writing to get some research, I couldn't keep up with it. Too many fillers in seasons 4 and 5, anybody?

Finally, I just know now, I could do a lot better. That's why I said I'm not really continuing it, but not killing it either. I like the entire scheme I had hidden away, that none of you readers know about, but if I really wanted to pull it off effectively, I would have to drop the shipping part, and probably a lot if not all of the real Pokémon characters. Trying to completely skew the Pokémon characters and anime plotline to fit my story was getting harder and harder, and I feel like it would seem a bit surreal in the end. Trust me, the plot I had set up was to basically alter the entire Pokémon world's mentality, as you all already could witness with the Brotherhood's ideals. Some people might not mind that, but I'm kind of a purist and now looking back, I was tinkering with too much.

I know that I gained a lot of viewers from labeling the story as a shipping story, but I believe my true intent was not to write a shipping story, at least not by the time I was writing the later chapters. Again, I was a shipper, and I did want to write a story, but I compromised too much and threw the shipping in with a military-espionage-sort of situation and it was just clashing a lot. Maybe it wasn't to you viewers, but in my head everything was going out of focus. The roller coaster ride of romance versus violence was going to get worse, and I began to grow up and mature and the notion of anime romance fell out of my mind completely.

So what will I do now? Well, currently I work 8 hours a day every weekday at Delphi, an automotive parts manufacturer and distributor. I make $10 an hour, so I'm making quite a good yield for just getting out of high school. I started wondering what to do with the money, and I remember this project I tried to pull off during the school year, called Project Genesis. It was to be a grand collab of dance routines made by my friends and formed into a longish music video type thing. I was managing all the teams of people, from film to costume to dancers.

It didn't work out. People were just too busy during the school year including myself. So that project died. So about a month ago, as I pondered on what to spend my money on besides video games, I somehow get an idea incepted into my mind. I revived the Project Genesis members and formed Genesis Arts. Genesis Arts is just what we call our little group of artists and producers right now. We have digital artists, hnad artists, musicians, cinematographers, and photographers, all working together to make art. I'm the manager of the thing, as well as the audio producer, meaning a ton of my money went to buying mics, cables, audio interfaces, etc. My co-worker friend who did a search of my username cichawk and pulled up my fanfic is the cinematographer. Then there are many more. I've created a Youtube account, a Facebook page, a deviantArt, a Vimeo, and a gmail account in order to help post the art that my friends provide.

Basically, the goal is to get some recognition on Youtube so that we can become sort of like Machinima, except for art. For those of you who don't know what Machinima is, it is a channel on Youtube that posts gameplay and other video game related videos so that they can be concentrated and more easily viewable by the general (gaming) public. So what I hope is that people from all around will start submitting their works of art of whatever sort to Genesis Arts. It is to be completely non-profit, so whatever proceeds I might ever get will go to benefitting those in third-world countries and such related activities.

So now, I would like to thank Dan, who is that co-worker/cinematographer that is sitting next to me, for making me write this goodbye (he's also my college roommate). I thank Kyle, the college intern that is here too, for some inspiration in the fanfic even though I had no idea who he was back then and I had never met him at that time. I thank Rebecca, who was the only person to know about my fic during the time I was writing it, and is still a good friend today despite some falling outs. I thank Claire, who is currently reading the fic as I type this ._. (Hi, you'll probably see this at the end) I thank the rest of you guys at Genesis Arts, even though you all will probably never see this. We're going to do great things, and even if you guys might leave at some point, your contributions will be invaluable. Finally, I thank you readers, for the support, the reviews, the emails, the urging, and whatever else it is that readers like to do to authors. I was never really part of the community, as my main purpose was just to write, but I thank you all for being a community of my fanfic. =)

As for the fic, we'll see if I ever decide to come back to it, or rewrite it someday in the distant future. For now, I will just say, Goodbye(?)


End file.
